Double Trouble
by grnfield
Summary: No matter how good your equipment nor how strong your team, you cannot cheat death. This is a death-fic and as such is heart-wrenching and traumatic to read in places.
1. Chapter 1

Double Trouble by Emma Nisbet (grnfield)

An evil death-fic plot bunny bit me two and a half hours into a three hour car journey. I finally arrived at my destination, in floods of tears and struggling to see where I was driving. Let that be your official tissue warning! This bunny was NOT nice!

Usual disclaimer - I own nothing and nobody that you recognise!

Extra disclaimer - as discussed above, this is a death-fic. It is heart-wrenching and traumatic to read in places but I have done my best to put this evil plot bunny to rest in as respectful a way as possible.

Please read and review but do not simply flame me for it being a death-fic. I have labelled it as such from the outset so that people can avoid it if they so wish.

~#~

Summary: No matter how good your equipment nor how strong your team, you cannot cheat death.

~#~ (Chapter 1)

International Rescue had been called out on what, by the distress call, had sounded like a relatively simple fire combined with a chemical spill on a large industrial park. One building was reported to be alight but due to a large amount of hazardous chemicals being involved it required the assistance of International Rescue to safely tackle the blaze.

Scott was dispatched first and flew over the site of the fire to reconnoitre. He checked his scanners as he looked down on the fire and immediately radioed for Thunderbird 2 to 'step on it'. A second building was fully ablaze and a third was showing signs that there was a fire starting up somewhere inside it.

By the time Virgil and Thunderbird 2 arrived, Scott had set up mobile control and had tasked the multiple units from the local fire brigade to continuously damp down the fifth and sixth building, on the far side of the four which were by now burning fiercely. Virgil quickly unloaded the Firefly while Gordon and Alan took the Mole in order to dig a deep trench across the back of the original building to stop the spread of toxic liquid that was seeping from several large tanks stored there.

~#~

They had begun, very successfully, to tunnel through the concrete behind the building when Unit 3 exploded in a particularly spectacular fashion. The Mole was sheltered from the blast, partly by Unit 1 but mainly by the fact that it was partially submerged under the ground when the building blew.

"Phew," Gordon commented. "That was a big one. Is everyone alright out there? Virgil? Scott?"

"I'm alright," Scott's gruff reply came through almost immediately. "You OK over there Virg? That canister looked like it was coming straight for you."

Virgil coughed lightly. "It was," he replied honestly. "It got me too. I didn't get the scoop down fast enough and there's one hell of a crack in the windscreen that Brains isn't going to be best pleased about. Sensor's say there's no fumes coming through though so I'd say we're still good to go."

Scott nodded. "We'll get Brains on it just as soon as we get home," he said. "As long as you're sure there are no fumes?"

"No fumes, Scott. Mobile Control would be screaming at you if there was," Virgil pointed out calmly. "We need to get this damn fire under control ASAP. Have you any clue what's fuelling it…or from where? Can we cut it off at the source?"

Scott shook his head. "No," he admitted. "There shouldn't be any accelerant in any of the buildings. The paint canisters in Unit 3 are flammable and pressurised, hence the torpedo effect that we saw just now. There are some stripping agents as well but there's nothing in there that would explain the aggressiveness of the fire. It started in Unit 1, where Gordon and Alan are working and spread rapidly through units two, three and four. The park doesn't have a gas supply so it's not being caused by a leak…something's feeding it though, I just don't know what, where or why."

Virgil growled low in his throat. "Doesn't that sound a mighty bit fishy?" he asked. "Buildings don't just burn like this for no reason, Scott. Someone or something is, or was, helping it along."

Scott nodded. "I think so too but that's not our problem. We need to stop talking about it and get it out. Quickly. Units five and six are stacked full of furniture. If they catch the pair of them are going to go up like tinder boxes and there's housing just behind them. Alan, Gordon, get going with that trench. If we manage to contain the fire then it'll eventually burn itself out. That sludge, however, is a different matter entirely. If it gets into the brook then it'll pollute the river and we'll have a major ecological disaster on our hands. Virg, the fire in Unit 3 seems to have died down for the moment so you need to concentrate your efforts on Unit 4 in order to protect units five and six. You can either take it down or put it out; it's up to you which. Let me know what you decide when you get over there. OK?"

"OK, Scott. Heading to Unit 4 now." Scott heard the Firefly's engines kick up a gear and the squat, yellow machine trundled away.

~#~

Things seemed to be going smoothly for the next twenty minutes or so. Gordon and Alan cut a massive trench around the back of Unit 1 and then, very delicately, cut a channel up to the building. The Mole had been set on its 'soft ground' setting so it had lined the trench with sealant as it cut through the earth and very soon the toxic sludge was pooling in the bottom of its newly formed reservoir.

Virgil was making little progress on the fire raging inside Unit 4. Scott had one eye on the Mole's sensors and one eye on the little yellow Firefly as it sat valiantly squirting green goo in through a hole that Virgil had bored into the side of the building.

"How are you doing, Virg?" he asked quietly. "…because from here, it doesn't look like you're making much of an impact on that fire."

"That's because I'm not." Virgil's frustration at the situation carried clearly in his voice. "I think we're going to have to go for plan B. Can you get someone to take the Mole down under the corner farthest from me and we'll see if we can get the whole building to fold in on itself. I don't think it'll take very much, the basic structure has been pretty much destroyed by the heat already."

"Will do," Scott replied. "Gordon, Alan, you'll like this one. Virgil wants you to help him knock down a building….and you won't get in trouble for it this time."

Gordon's chuckle rang clearly through Mobile Control's speakers. "Cool," he cried. "Which one are we taking down…and how?"

"Four," Virgil replied with a snigger. "I want you to undermine the foundations in the far corner. I'll push from this side and I reckon we can fold it in on itself and smother the fire in the process."

"Oookay," Alan leaned forwards so he could reach the microphone from his spot in the driving seat of the Mole. "You can count on us. We'll be under there in five."

Virgil rolled his eyes, even though he knew no-one could see him. "You know you've probably got the pair of them all overexcited now, don't you Scott?"

Scott snorted. "I know," he replied. "…but if it helps get the job done quicker…"

"…then we'll all get home in time for tea." Virgil finished the saying which Penelope had used for as long as the boys could remember. "I sure could do with a cup of Penny's tea. I'm baking in here."

Scott chuckled. "Shouldn't be long now, Virg. If your collapsing plan works then Unit 4 will be sorted in a matter of minutes. Three's giving me cause for concern though. The fire's really taking hold again so once Four's sorted I think you might need to repeat the procedure on Three. Unit 1's just smouldering now and Two's pretty much out. Just Three and Four to deal with then we'll get you your tea. Deal?"

Virgil grinned. "Deal…and I'm going to hold you to that too. Listen, Scott, I'm going to reposition so I'm at a better angle for when the terrible two arrive. I'd rather they didn't end up bringing the whole lot down on my head."

Scott shook his head. "Don't even joke about it. Go, do your repositioning. You know where I am if you need me."

~#~

Less than a minute later, Alan radioed through that he and Gordon were in place, underneath the ground and level with the foundations of the building. Scott asked them to hold still while he watched Virgil carry out a very protracted three point turn in the Firefly and then trundle slowly out of view between Units 3 and 4.

Scott looked down and frowned at the readouts on the renewed fire in Unit 3. He barely had time to register what he was looking at before the building erupted again. Scott threw himself to the floor behind Mobile Control, covered his head with his arms and a split second later a ball of flame rolled across the site. Rubble, bricks, metal beams and paint canisters followed almost immediately and then, very suddenly, there was silence.

Scott picked himself up and gingerly poked his head over the charred and blackened top of Mobile Control. Where, just a few moments before, there had been a large industrial unit, now there was a smouldering pile of devastation. The explosion had propelled the walls of Unit 3 outwards and its roof had fallen in on the interior. The fiery blast had effectively used up most of the remaining fuel in the building and as Scott looked around he could see remnants of the unit scattered around the site.

Scott's heart clenched when he noticed the still and dirty form of the Firefly resting at an angle against the side of Unit 4. The little yellow machine was littered with debris from the explosion and Scott could see that several metal supporting beams from Unit 3 scattered around it. He leaned across and pressed a button on Mobile Control. "Virg," he said quietly. "It looks like the Firefly took a bit of a battering in that last explosion. Are you OK in there?" He released the button so that Virgil could answer and then frowned when no reply was forthcoming. "Virg? Speak to me, Buddy. Are you alright?"

He let go of the button again and this time was rewarded by a soft hiss which meant that Virgil had pressed his transmit button inside the Firefly.

There was a long pause before a brokenly whispered "Sc…Sc-ott…y" came through the speakers and the hissing clicked off again.

The voice was barely identifiable as Virgil's and Scott's heart sank. "Stay there," he said quietly. "I'm coming to you. Alan, Gordon, I hope you're hearing this. Virg's hurt. Unit 3 blew again and the Firefly took a hit with Virgil inside it. Get that building down in whatever way possible but take extra care near the north-east corner. Get it down and then come and find us."

Scott didn't wait for a reply but took off running towards the Firefly with his watch held up in front of him. "How are you doing, Virg?" he asked. "I'm on my way. The kids are going to take the building down while I see about patching you up. OK?"

There was a pause and then the hissing began again. "N-n-no patching up, ne-ne-necessary. T-t-too la-ate...Hurry, Sc-Sc...aah. No…not-not yet."

Scott flew across the ground towards his fallen brother. As he approached the stricken Firefly he realised that one of the metal roof supports from Unit 3, which he had originally thought were covering the little yellow machine, had actually penetrated the windscreen of the vehicle. The remaining glass had shattered but the tough laminated coating had held it together in an almost opaque pattern of cracks and splinters.

"Virg," he hissed into his watch. "I'm here now. You still with me?"

There was a gentle, wet-sounding cough followed by a wheeze. "S-still here, Sc…ah…otty. No-not much lo…o…onger. W-wait-ing f-for you."

Scott clambered up the side of the Firefly, wrenched open the hatch and threw himself inside. He launched himself down the inside of the vehicle and in through the door of the cabin where he skidded to a halt. "Shit," he whispered. "Virg?"

Virgil opened his eyes long enough for Scott to see the pain in them and then closed them again. "No…time," he whispered. "No p-p-patching u…u...Sss-cott…"

Scott perched on the edge of the chair as close to Virgil as he could get. He lifted Virgil's hands into his own and took a moment to survey the damage to his beloved brother. The metal beam that he had seen sticking through the windscreen had burst into the Firefly and embedded itself in the right hand side of Virgil's torso. It had pulverised several of his ribs and damaged many of his vital organs as it tore through him, only finally stopping when it hit the reinforced metal frame of the seat which Virgil was now pinned to.

Virgil flexed one of his hands and Scott looked up to find his brother looking at him. "Not…not going to-to-to get my t-ea," Virgil stuttered with the barest of smiles. "S-s-sorry, Sco...ah…sh-shit."

Tears ran down Scott's face as he bundled Virgil's hands together and hugged them against his chest with his left arm. He reached up and ran his right hand through Virgil's thick, brown hair. "Don't," he said softly. "Just don't. You have nothing to apologise for, you hear me? Nothing."

There was a loud crash from just outside and the Firefly shook slightly. Virgil let out a howl and then fell silent. Scott could see him gasping valiantly for air which his one fully-functional lung was struggling to provide. "I guess the building's down," he whispered. "Do you want to have a go at talking to the kids?"

Virgil's bottom lip wobbled and he shook his head as pain-filled tears fell from his eyes. "N-n-no. W-w-want D-Dad…John…you. Aah, Scott. D-D-Dad. Quick."

Scott nodded his head and pressed several buttons on Virgil's watch. Jeff and John immediately appeared on the tiny split-screen and by the look Jeff's face, and the fact that John was making no effort to stop the tears sliding down his cheeks, it was obvious that they had both been listening in on the two brothers' quiet conversation using the Firefly's internal monitoring systems. Scott held Virgil's arm steady so that he could see his father and brother without having to move or support himself.

"Virgil," Jeff started softly only to be cut off by Virgil shaking his head.

"N-n-nooo," he slurred. "Ne-need to say goo-goodb-b-bye. D-dif-fi-fi-cult...br-br-eathe. Lo-love you a-aaall. Loo-look after the-the k-k-kids. D-don't f…or…get. Look-k aaaafter the k-kids." Virgil gurgled wetly and struggled to suck in another gasp of air. A trickle of blood ran out of the corner of his mouth and slid down his neck as he looked Scott straight in the eye. "D-do-do…donnnn't you d-d-do a-any…anyth-th-thing stuuupid, 'cot. P'mise me? No-no-no…aah…not be…stupid."

Scott sniffed and tried to smile as he stroked the side of Virgil's face with the pad of his thumb. "Nothing stupid," he whispered. "I promise."

Virgil's head flopped weakly forwards as he tried to nod his approval. Scott tucked Virgil's hands against his neck and gently rested his brother's head back against the headrest behind him. He then moved his hands into Virgil's hair and gently carded his fingers through the soft strands until he realised that the focus was gradually fading from his brother's eyes.

Virgil let out a couple of shaky gasps and flexed one of his hands to alert Scott that he was struggling. Scott shuffled forwards and positioned himself directly into Virgil's line of sight. Virgil blinked several times and attempted to nod again. Scott pressed his lips together to suppress the sob which was trying to escape and then leant forwards and placed a long, sad kiss on Virgil's forehead. "Go peacefully," he whispered. "…and say hello to Mom for me. I'll see you again when it's my time to go. You hear me, Virg? I'll see you again."

Virgil let out a shudder and then choked slightly and gasped. "M-M-Mom. Sco-Scot-t-t-t. MmmMom." He gave a soft sigh and Scott let out a keening wail as his brother's now lifeless body relaxed completely. He sat completely still for a moment and then pulled Virgil's head and shoulders against his chest and rocked him as much as the impaling metal rod would allow. "He's gone," he cried. "John, Dad, he's gone. What are we going to do? Oh God, someone needs to tell the kids."

"Scott." Jeff's voice was muffled from where Virgil's limp arm had slipped down between his body and Scott's chest. "Scott, son, activate your watch so I can see you."

Despite the fact that no one could see him, Scott shook his head. He clung to Virgil and let out a hoarse animalistic cry before dissolving completely into a bout of harsh, gut-wrenching sobs.


	2. Chapter 2

~#~ (Chapter 2)

"Scott," Jeff tried again to get through to his son. "I have no idea if you can hear me but if you can, please, please activate your watch." Scott was so wrapped up in his grief that he barely registered Jeff's words let alone switched his watch onto transmit. "Scotty, I need to talk to Gordon and Alan. They've been holding position, just under the ground, since the building went down. They knew Virgil was hurt and are not happy that John wouldn't let them surface because they wanted to try and help. I need to tell them what's happened. Will you be alright in there if I leave John with you while I go and talk to them?"

Scott sucked in a deep breath and tried, not entirely successfully, to calm himself down enough to speak to his father. He carefully repositioned Virgil so his brother's forehead was resting against his neck and then reached down and switched Virgil's watch off. He breathed deeply for a couple of seconds and then pressed the same set of buttons on his own watch that he had done on Virgil's just a couple of minutes before. "Dad?" he croaked. "Don't let them in here. They don't need to see him like this. He…he…shit." Scott had made the mistake of looking down at himself. The leg of his flight-suit, where he'd been resting on the seat beside Virgil was soaked in blood and he had smudges and smears of Virgil's blood at random intervals over the rest of his clothes. "They don't need to see me like this either," he said quietly. "Tell them to take the Mole back and I'll deal with everything here."

Jeff had guessed that Scott would respond in the end and had held off going to speak to Gordon and Alan in a hope that his eldest son would prove him right. "You can't do it alone, Scott," he argued gently. "At the very least, you're going to need one of them to help you move Virgil. I can stall them a little, buy you some time maybe, but I won't be able to keep them away for long. He's their brother too, Scotty…and don't forget that they never had the chance to say goodbye."

Scott shook his head, winced and then gently pressed the base of his hand against his right eye. "Don't," he croaked again. "Virg did that to protect them and you know it. He wouldn't want them to see him like this."

Jeff shrugged. "I know he wouldn't have, but unless you can see something I've missed then there's no way around it. I'll give you as long as I can but I'm not going to keep them out for good. You need their help, whether you want to admit it or not and they're going to need _to_ help."

~#~

Scott slammed his arm viciously against the side of Virgil's seat. This had the desired effect of cutting off both Jeff and Thunderbird 5, even though John had been completely missing from view during the conversation with Jeff. "Sorry Johnny," he whispered. "Not aimed at you."

The movement of Scott's arm dislodged Virgil's head from its resting place against his neck and he flopped limply forwards until Scott caught him and held him close again. "I think we need to clean up a bit before the kids get here," he murmured. "Tell me everything's…Ah, good, I thought it'd still be there."

Scott had been one-handedly rummaging around under Virgil's seat while he was talking. His fingertips found one of the loose handles of the first aid kit and he pulled it up, out and onto his lap. He unzipped the kit, pulled out all the sterile wipes he could lay his hands on and then pushed the rest of the kit away from him and onto the floor.

He tore open the top of one of the wipe sachets with his teeth and gently started to clean the blood from Virgil's chin. He smiled sadly as he worked, totally unaware that tears were rolling, unbidden, down his face.

~#~

Scott finished cleaning up Virgil's chin. He started wiping down his brother's cheek and when he got level with Virgil's mouth, he was suddenly hit by a barrage of memories. Virgil as a baby, smiling widely while wearing almost as much applesauce as he'd eaten. The hasty clean-up operation after a four-year old Virgil had proudly put together his first peanut butter and jelly sandwich in their mother's spotless kitchen. A slightly older Virgil covered from head to toe in mud after a three-year-old Gordon had 'accidentally' upended him into the ditch that ran alongside their grandparents' Kansas farm.

The memories came faster and faster and Scott dropped the wipes with a shriek as a sharp pain emanated from behind his right eye and shot with lightning-fast speed across his temple and up into his hair line. The pain repeated its journey several more times until Scott slipped from the chair and crashed to the floor on his knees. "John?" he gasped. "Dad? I…Aaargh…" Scott's words were cut short when another wave of pain rippled through his head. He tried to push himself up from the floor with his left hand and barely managed to support himself as his stomach rebelled and he vomited, loudly and messily over the floor.

Scott grimaced and crawled backwards slightly in order to avoid the mess he'd just created. "Jjj…Jjj…onny. Hel..." He broke off again and let out a shrill cry as he leant his head against the somewhat cleaner patch of floor which was now in front of him. "Jjjohnnnn. Vvvirg. Plllease…ppplease hhe'lp. Ssome…one…hhhelp mme." Scott wrapped his arms around his head and let out another hoarse cry before slumping silently to the ground.

~#~

Due to Scott cutting him off, John was present, via Gordon's watch, when Jeff broke the news about Virgil's death to the youngest members of the family. The pair clung to one another for several minutes while John and Jeff spoke quietly to them and explained that Scott needed some time alone with Virgil before they could join him in the unenviable task of removing their fallen brother from his stricken machine and return home.

It was unanimously agreed that no-one should try to part Scott from Virgil. Despite his usual bluster that no-one flew Thunderbird 1 apart from himself, everyone knew that the eldest Tracy boy would be travelling home with Virgil's body in Thunderbird 2's sickbay. The large, green Thunderbird had a purpose-built cool room for the unfortunate times when rescues turned out to be little more than body-retrieval. The small room had thankfully not seen much use but the thought of putting Virgil in there was too abhorrent for everyone and the idea had been discounted just as soon as it had been raised.

Alan and Gordon agreed to give Scott the time he needed to be with Virgil and set about closing down the rescue site in order to facilitate leaving once everyone, alive or dead, had been loaded into the two Thunderbird machines.

Gordon composed himself as best he could before climbing out of the Mole. He took a few deep breaths and then strode over to the local fire-fighters and ordered them to concentrate their hoses on the remains of Unit 4 as it was the only one still burning, albeit slowly now that the walls and roof had been folded onto one another.

~#~

Gordon's watch sprang to life just as he finished organising the fire crews. He could hear the upper tones of John's voice calling frantically through the small device and stepped quickly away from the fire-trucks so that he could properly hear what was being said.

"…and yelling and then it all went quiet. You need to get in there, like NOW, Gordon. You hear me?"

"Going," Gordon yelled as he took off running. He stormed around the outside of Unit 4 and skidded to a halt in front of the still, yellow form of the Firefly. He could see Alan approaching with a stretcher from the direction he knew Thunderbird 2 to be parked and correctly guessed that his younger brother had just returned the Mole to the pod, ready for leaving.

He waved at Alan to acknowledge him and then scrambled up the side of the Firefly and in through the hatch that Scott had left hanging open. He hurried towards the front of the vehicle, calling for his brother as he went. "Scott," he cried. "Can you hear me, Scott? Are you hurt?"

Gordon gingerly pushed open the door to the Firefly's cabin and stopped dead. Even though he'd been pre-warned about the devastation that he'd see inside, nothing could have prepared him for the sight itself. His eyes were immediately drawn to the huge metal pole sticking through the windscreen and his gaze followed the beam down its length to where it disappeared into Virgil's body. He looked grimly at the awful damage that had taken his brother's life and valiantly swallowed down the bile which threatened to erupt from his stomach.

He wrenched his eyes away from Virgil and let out a soft cry when he immediately spotted Scott. The eldest Tracy brother was slumped on his side with his back against the base of Virgil's chair. He was covered in blood, had his hands wrapped around his head and was totally silent and still.

Gordon hitched in a breath and stepped carefully around the puddle of vomit on the floor. He squatted down beside Scott and rested one hand gently on his brother's back. He sucked in another breath and slipped two fingers of his other hand inside Scott's flight-suit and rested them against his neck.

After several failed attempts at finding a pulse in Scott's neck, Gordon tried his wrist. When this also failed he rolled Scott slightly and checked his eyes.

Scott's blank, partway-open eyes were Gordon's undoing and he let out a loud sob, scrambled to his feet and flew out of the door. He ran through the Firefly and managed to haul himself out of the hatch and down onto the hard concrete floor before losing the contents of his stomach.


	3. Chapter 3

~#~ (Chapter 3)

Alan, whose eyes were already bloodshot from the earlier outpouring of emotion, ran the last few feet towards his brother and stopped just in front of him as he continued to retch. After a moment he crept nearer and wrapped an arm around the red-head's shoulders. "It's bad in there," he surmised as he held a water bottle out to Gordon who took it gratefully. "Worse than Dad warned us?"

Gordon leant weakly against him for a moment and then took a swig of water and turned away to spit it onto the floor. "W-worse than Dad kn-kn-knows," he stammered. "Did…did John contact you to tell you that Scott was in trouble?"

Alan thought for a moment and then shook his head. "No," he replied. "Last thing he and Dad said to me was that I needed to get the Mole packed away ready for taking Virgil home. Why? What's Scott done? He hasn't smashed everything up in there or something, has he?"

What little colour there was in Gordon's cheeks drained away to the point where Alan wondered if the aquanaut might be about to pass out. "What's the matter, Gords?"

Gordon shook his head slowly and sat back on his heels. "Wait," he whispered and then raised his hand until his watch was level with his face. He jabbed at the buttons and growled in frustration until Alan leant over and pressed the appropriate buttons for Base and Thunderbird 5.

Jeff's worried face immediately appeared on the screen, along with a pale and washed-out looking John. "Gordon," Jeff whispered. "What is it?"

Gordon shook his head again and leant heavily against Alan. "It's Scott," he replied eventually. "It's…he's…um…no. I can't, Dad. If I say it then it becomes true and it can't be true. It just can't."

Jeff's worried frown deepened as John suddenly got even paler and slumped back in his chair. "No," he whispered. "No. No. It's not possible. Gordon?"

Gordon squeezed his eyes tightly shut and then opened them and looked straight at his father. "He's gone," he croaked. "I don't know how or why or…anything but he's most definitely gone."

Jeff sunk back into his chair with a groan. He let out a strangled sob and then clamped his hands over his mouth in a vain attempt at hiding some of his pain from his three remaining sons. Alan, Gordon and John were dismayed to see tears escape from his eyes just a second before he leaned forwards and flicked the picture off.

Without realising it, Jeff had left the sound transmitting and the three boys were shocked to hear their father break down completely just a couple of seconds after flicking the switch. Not since the tragic death of their mother had they known Jeff to display such raw emotion but over the sound-only transmission they heard him let out an unearthly wail and then dissolve into a flood of tears and broken sobs.

None of the boys were willing to break their connection with the island and the three listened silently with tears of their own streaming down their faces. Gordon and Alan sat on the floor, tangled in each other's arms and John sat perched uncomfortably on the edge of his control chair.

~#~

After several minutes Jeff moved from devastated to enraged and John, Gordon and Alan clearly heard the sounds of their father swiping everything off his desk and then trashing his office. At one point they heard a quiet feminine exclamation followed by the sound of a closing door and they realised that Tin-Tin must have walked into the room in to find out what was going on.

Tin-Tin returned less than a minute later with her own father in tow. The gentle Malaysian man took one look at the situation and wrapped his arms around the raging Jeff before lowering him gently to the floor. Jeff fought him for a moment and then went completely limp and just hung, motionless in his old friend's arms.

Kyrano adjusted his grip and turned Jeff until his head was in a more comfortable position. Jeff turned himself further still, sighed loudly and buried his face in Kyrano's soft, silk tunic.

Tin-Tin looked at the two men on the floor and then spotted the flashing light on the side of Jeff's desk. She knew this meant there was still an active transmission between the island and one of the many International Rescue operatives around the globe. She stared at the blinking light for a moment and frowned when she realised that the person on the other end of the signal had probably been the one to cause the situation that she'd just walked in on. She looked down at her father to ask his advice but found that all his attention was on Jeff, who had rolled himself into a tight ball with his face hidden from view. Tin-Tin understood at that point that the decision of whether to continue, or disconnect, the call would be one that only she could make. She stepped backwards, picked the office chair up from where Jeff had thrown it and then sat herself tentatively on the edge of it and pressed the button to reactivate the picture part of the call.

She was immediately confronted by a split screen. On one side sat John, looking pale and sick with red-rimmed eyes from where he'd been crying and on the other sat Gordon and Alan. Huddled tightly together and wearing their matching blue uniforms, it was difficult to tell where one brother finished and the next began. Both youngsters had tears glistening on their faces and Tin-Tin suddenly realised that they were sitting on the ground with the Firefly behind them.

"I almost don't want to ask," she said quietly. "…but what's happened? I…we…Father and I know about Virgil. I'm afraid Mrs Tracy took the news very badly and Father had to give her something to make her sleep. We've been taking it in turns sitting with her downstairs, that's why Mr Tracy was alone in here. He was determined that he was going to hold himself together until you all got back here but something else has happened, hasn't it? Something bad to have made your father react this way?"

Alan froze when Gordon gripped onto his hand so tightly that it hurt. The aquanaut then lowered his head to his chest and slowly shook it.

Alan peered at John through Gordon's watch and found the other blonde Tracy staring back at him. John shrugged almost imperceptibly and Alan nodded his reply in the same muted manner. "Scott's dead, Tin," he murmured. "Gordon went in there," he motioned towards the Firefly with his thumb, "…to help with Virgil and he found him." Alan shrugged when he realised that he couldn't tell Tin-Tin anything more because that was simply all he knew. He rubbed Gordon's back for a moment and looked helplessly at John.

"Gordon." John's voice was little louder than a whisper but everyone could hear him clearly. Kyrano, who was gently carding his hands through Jeff's hair, realised that his friend had gone completely still and was listening intently to the quiet conversation on the desk.

"Gordon," John prompted again. "Can you tell us anything else?"

Gordon shrugged. "He…he was lying on the floor," he whispered. "…with his arms around his head like he was trying to protect himself. He'd thrown up at some point but had managed to move himself away from the mess before he'd got any of it on him." Gordon stopped for a moment and finally looked up, freeing his hand from Alan's as he moved his head. "One of his eyes…" he said softly. "…one of his eyes was all pffft." Gordon made a bursting motion with his fingers and then shrugged again. "That's all I know. I…I couldn't stay in there. Not with the two of them in there like…that."

~#~

Jeff heaved in a deep sigh and motioned for Kyrano to let him go. The two men helped one another to their feet and then Kyrano handed Jeff a large handkerchief and stood beside him with a supportive hand on his back while Jeff wiped his eyes, face and chin and blew his nose.

Tin-Tin slid off the chair and stood beside it as Jeff approached. The Tracy patriarch gave her a grateful smile and dropped heavily onto the seat. "Tin-Tin," he murmured. "Could you go and get Brains for me. He needs to know what's happening."

Tin-Tin scurried from the room as Jeff turned his attentions to his sons. "I…I…" He stopped, pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers and let out a loud burst of air. He took a deep breath and gave Kyrano a grateful look when the elderly Malaysian man stepped up beside him and rested a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not really sure what I should be saying to you all at the moment other than apologising to you, Gordon, for putting you in a situation where you would have to go through what you've just…um…been through."

Gordon shrugged slightly and scrubbed at his eyes in an attempt to clear away some of the tears which were still pooled there. "S-someone had to find out what was going on in there," he murmured. "I'd give almost anything to go back ten minutes…to before I'd gone in there but it wouldn't help, would it? Scott would still be dead and we wouldn't know about it and if I hadn't been there then Alan would have gone in and found him instead and I wouldn't want that either."

Jeff nodded gently and then grimaced. "Gordon," he said softly. "Much as I'd rather not, I'm going to have to ask you to go in there again; probably more than once. I'm not going to suggest that you go in alone though and no…" Jeff held up a hand to stop any arguments before they formed. "…I'm not suggesting you take Alan in either. Look, I know that asking for help isn't something any of us do well but these are…" He paused and screwed up his nose as he searched for the appropriate word. "…exceptional circumstances. Gordon, I need you to speak to the fire-crews that you've got there and I want you to ask for their help. You won't be able to move the Firefly with that beam in place and I have no intention of letting you transport it back here with either of your brothers still inside it. Alan, I'm going to put you in charge of somehow getting everything back into the pod, using whatever equipment you have to hand. Under no circumstances are you to set foot inside the Firefly. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly," Alan replied as he nodded grimly. After seeing Gordon's violent reaction to the carnage within the Firefly's cabin he had no real desire to ever climb inside the small, yellow machine again. "I'll go back to Two and see what I can bring back that'll help."

Alan clambered to his feet and held his hand out to help Gordon up. Gordon grabbed his hand, stood up and pulled him into a fierce hug. Alan clung tightly to him for several seconds and then gave a shaky smile and walked away with tears glistening in his eyes.

Gordon closed his connection to the island and wandered slowly away from the Firefly. "Dad." John spoke softly. "I think you need to put some thought into how we're going to get One home. There's no way you can separate the pair of them and make them fly back alone, they're both on the verge of falling apart as it is."

Jeff ran his hands up over his face and into his hair. He kneaded the back of his head for a moment and then jumped when he felt a gentle hand come to rest on his shoulder.

"Sorry," Tin-Tin murmured. "I just caught the tail end of your conversation. I'll go and get Thunderbird 1 if you need me to. Better the Ladybird or Tracy 2 being left somewhere rather than one of the Thunderbird machines."

Jeff lowered his hands and smiled at her gratefully. "Will you be alright on your own?" he asked. "You'll have to find some way of getting from the airport to the Industrial Park. Do you need me to make arrangements?"

Tin-Tin shook her head. "No, Mr Tracy. Don't you worry yourself about that. I'll make the arrangements once I'm in the air and I'll let you know when I land. Mrs Tracy should sleep for several hours yet but someone really needs to monitor her and also you'll need to speak to her when she wakes up. I'll go and get changed; I'll let you know when I'm ready for take-off." Tin-Tin hurried up to Kyrano, stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "I'll see you soon, Father," she murmured. "Oh, Mr Tracy, Brains is here."


	4. Chapter 4

~#~ (Chapter 4)

Gordon wandered slowly around to the back of Unit 4 where the fire crews were gathered. Andy, the crewman that he and Scott had spoken to previously, separated from among his group of colleagues and stepped forwards. "I was about to call for you guys," he said. "I don't think there's anything more we can do here. There's no sign of anything reigniting in any of the units now and units five and six have survived. Everything in them's probably scrap 'cos of the water and fire-retardant but at least the buildings themselves have survived. You know, we're real lucky this all kicked off so early that the security guy was able to raise the alarm and keep the gates shut before anyone came into work. Material losses only, no fatalities and just two buildings completely destroyed out of a possible six. All in all a pretty decent morning's work."

Gordon paled as the fireman finished speaking. He closed his eyes briefly and didn't realise he was swaying until he felt a firm grip catch hold of his arm. He opened his eyes to find Andy's worried face directly in front of his own. "Are you OK there, Bud?" the fire-fighter said quietly. "'Cos you look kind of sick, if you don't mind me saying?"

Gordon closed his eyes again and stood quietly for a moment. He then looked up at Andy and nodded his head. "I'm OK," he said softly. "Look, I understand that you and your guys have pretty much finished here and I'm sure you were all hoping to get back to your station for a celebratory breakfast but I'm sorry, I'm going to have to ask you to stay for a little longer." Gordon's stomach clenched as he opened his mouth to speak again. He rested his hand on his belly for a moment and breathed deeply until he was confident that he wasn't going to be sick. "There…there's been an…incident," he said. The words were barely audible but Andy was standing so close in front of the red-head that he could hear them all. "One…one of our machines was damaged when the Unit 3 came down and…and…" Gordon shook his head and bit hard into his bottom lip. He clamped his eyes tightly shut and found himself swaying again.

Andy clamped a hand onto Gordon's other arm and pressed him down onto a box which one of his crewmen had hurried over with when he'd seen Gordon start to sway.

His friend hovered a short distance away while Andy squatted down beside Gordon who had buried his face in his hands. "Andy, dude, what's going on," he asked. "The IR man don't look good."

Andy patted Gordon on the shoulder and stepped across towards his friend. "Keep it down, Petey," he hissed. "Rally the guys and tell 'em we're not done here yet. I don't know for definite but I think we may have a 10-53 on our hands." Andy raised his eyebrows to question whether Pete had understood the old police code for 'man down'. Pete frowned for a moment and then nodded and shot back towards the rest of the waiting fire personnel.

Andy moved back and squatted beside Gordon who was sitting on the box with his head lowered to his chest. His arms were resting loosely on his knees and Andy could see that every now and then there was a hitch in his breathing.

The fireman rested a hand on Gordon's shoulder and squeezed gently. "Me and the boys will be here as long as you need us," he said softly. "What do you want us to do?"

Gordon sniffed noisily and let out a loud, wet snort. "Sorry," he replied. "I'm not coming over as very professional, am I? I…I just…it's all…too much. You know?"

Andy smiled sadly. "I've lost men in the past," he murmured. "Good men, strong men, men who totally didn't deserve to go. You IR guys seemed to be a tight-knit unit, the same as us lot. You form bonds over the years, the team becomes like family, like brothers, and when one of them is taken from you…well." Andy shrugged to himself and was gratified when Gordon looked up at him with understanding in his eyes. "Shall we go and get your buddy?" he asked softly. "Then you can take him out of here and back home to his family?"

Gordon choked slightly at this and then nodded. "My other…um…colleague is back there trying to gather all the equipment together. He's young and a bit naïve so I'd rather he didn't see…um…too much. You'll…you'll understand when you see what's happened."

Andy nodded and helped Gordon to his feet. He motioned to the rest of his crew with a flick of his head and then followed a silent Gordon around the corner.

~#~

Andy was forced to swallow a gasp when Gordon stopped dead just underneath the Firefly's huge bucket scoop. He looked up and saw the metal beam protruding through the window below the scoop and winced. "The driver?" he whispered.

Gordon nodded sadly. "…and Scott," he replied, pointing towards Mobile Control and then frowning when he realised that Alan was watching them from behind the big red piece of machinery. "He went to help but…" Gordon shrugged helplessly and fell silent as he watched Alan set out towards them with one of the smaller sensor boxes from Mobile Control.

"Do you mind if I take a look inside," Andy asked quietly. "I need to know exactly what we're dealing with so I can tell the boys what equipment we're going to need."

Gordon hesitated for a moment. Giving non-IR people access to view the ships or equipment had always been number one in the 'forbidden' list of banned activities since Jeff had founded the organisation. Usually anyone outside of International Rescue was advised to keep at a distance of at least fifty metres from of any of the craft or vehicles other than Mobile Control. They were always told that it was for their own safety but the main reason was the internal security of International Rescue, her crew and her secrets. "I'll come with you," he replied eventually. "At…at least most of the way. I…I have to warn you that it's not…um…pleasant in there."

Andy blinked slowly and then nodded. "I understand," he said sympathetically. "I've been doing this job for enough years now and I've seen a great deal. It's different from the other side though; when it's one of your team."

Gordon nodded and then realised that Alan had never reached them. He spun back towards Mobile Control where he had last seen his little brother and panicked when he couldn't see him. He spun around again, looking this time towards the gate of the industrial park where Alan would have gone if he gone back to Thunderbird 2 but Alan was still nowhere to be seen. Gordon froze, let out an anxious, breathy squeak and promptly began to hyperventilate. It took Andy a moment to work out what the problem was but when he did, the fireman grabbed Gordon by both shoulders and pulled him roughly backwards until he could see Alan who had completely bypassed the Firefly and was running scans on Unit 4.

Alan, unaware Gordon's panic, held up the scanner and waved. Gordon shook himself and let out a groan. "Too much," he whispered. "I can't cope with this, it's all too much."

Andy looked sadly at the young man who, he suddenly realised, he still had hold of. "Gordon," he murmured. "Hey, buddy, come on. You've done well so far but I need you to hold yourself together for just another couple of minutes. Give me the chance to have a look at your men then my boys and I can put together a plan for getting them out, bagged and away from here."

Gordon let out another low groan and shuddered at the thought of having to 'bag' his brothers' bodies. Andy felt the shudder through the grip he had on Gordon's arms. "Sorry, I didn't think about that before I said it. I guess I got into talking to you like one of the lads. The boys and I will do anything you don't feel comfortable doing. If you don't want to be there when we move your buddies then just say so. If you'd rather be there, to oversee things or…something, then that's fine as well. We can take things as fast or as slow as you want but personally I think you, and the little dude over there, probably need to get yourselves back to…wherever it is you come from…just as soon as you possibly can."

Gordon nodded and gently shrugged off Andy's hands. He wandered slowly up the length of the Firefly until he was level with the hatch and then scrambled up the side of the machine and slid himself in through the opening.

~#~

Gordon stopped outside the door to the cabin and motioned for Andy to pass by him. "This is as far as I'll go, for now," he explained. "…there's not much space inside. I think…I think Scott's going to have to be moved before you do anything about Virgil. You're…you're…I don't know how you're going to get _him_ out."

Andy nodded and slipped past Gordon to push the door open. As he stepped through the door he was immediately hit by the acrid scent of vomit, blood and other bodily fluids but he carried on into the small room regardless of how unpleasant it was inside.

He trod slowly across the room, side-stepping the vomit and carefully avoiding stepping on the contents of the first aid kit that was strewn around the floor. He squatted beside Scott and instinctively checked for a pulse even though Scott was relatively cool to the touch and had a tell-tale purple tinge to his lips.

Andy shook his head, sighed softly and then reached up to gently shut Scott's eyes. He gently manipulated the deceased Tracy's arms down from above his head and lay them at a more natural position by his side. He smoothed Scott's hair down from where his fingers had been tangled in it and then realised that Gordon was watching him from the doorway.

"It'll make it easier to move him," he explained. "You're right about it being tight on space in here. It'll take a couple of us to move him onto a stretcher. It'll be awkward in the confined space but it's doable." Andy stood up and carefully stepped over Scott's legs so he could get a better look at Virgil.

The chestnut-haired pilot's head was slumped forwards and his right arm was stretched across the left hand side of his body where Scott had dropped it when he'd fallen to the floor. Virgil's left arm hung limply by his side but Andy could tell, as he reached out to manipulate it gently into Virgil's lap, that rigor mortis was starting to set in.

"These two were close, weren't they?" He asked the question mainly to divert Gordon's attention away from the fact that he was clambering around the back of Virgil's chair to establish exactly how far the metal pole was sticking into the back of the seat.

Gordon frowned slightly and nodded. "Yes," he replied. "…very close but how could you know that?"

Andy smiled sadly. "This one…Virgil, you said his name was?" Gordon nodded but remained quiet so Andy continued. "Scott had obviously been trying to clean him up when he…um…fell. There are used wipes here and Virgil's chin and part of his face are clean."

Andy crouched down beside Virgil's injured side and let out a hiss. "Jesus," he whispered. "That's…um…yeah…" He stopped and patted Virgil gently on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Buddy, we'll get you home."

He slipped out from beside Virgil and headed back over to Gordon. "How are you holding up over here?" he asked.

Gordon shrugged in reply. "I don't really know," he confessed. "I've gone sort of…numb, I think. I guess it'll hit me properly again at some point. Now…for now I can live with numb."

Andy nodded. "Understandable," he replied. "It's your body's way of protecting you. You can let it all out again once you're back home with your loved ones around to care for you."

Gordon shrugged again. "I don't know," he replied quietly. "I don't think going home's ever going to be the same again."

Andy blinked slowly and then shook his head gently before gripping Gordon's shoulder firmly and turning him in the direction of the hatch. The red-head let himself be manhandled outside and then looked around for Alan.

~#~

Andy spotted Alan before Gordon did and pointed towards the gate where he was just about to disappear from view. Gordon flicked at his watch and watched the tiny, distant form of Alan stop and lift his arm. "You OK, Al?" he asked. "Only you seem to be off back to Two again."

Alan nodded. "Um…yeah," he replied. "I've…I've worked out how I'm going to get the Firefly back into the pod. You're not going to like it so I was…well…just going to…sort of get ready...It's the only…um…sort of sensible thing I can come up with. In an ideal world we could have used one of the Recovery vehicles but we didn't bring any with us; they're not much use in a fire situation, after all. The Mole could tow her, of course, with no problems at all, but its cradle would almost certainly buckle and collapse if we tried it. No, this is the only way. It will work, Gords, I promise."

Gordon shook his head in confusion. "What are you on about?" he asked. "What exactly is it that you're going to do and is it dangerous?"

Alan blinked hard at Gordon's harsh tone. It took him a moment to absorb the idea that Gordon was now equivalently in charge of the rescue and Alan suddenly realised that he'd been half expecting Scott to jump in and quash his idea the moment he'd voiced it. Tears sprang to his eyes and he shook his head. "No," he replied. "No, it's not dangerous. A little reckless maybe but not dangerous."

Gordon stared at him through the watch and frowned. "Tell me exactly what you're going to do," he said. "…and I'll tell you whether you're going to be doing it or not. You do realise that it's only necessity that's making me let you out of my sight at the moment, don't you? If Da…the commander hadn't ordered you to get everything loaded up then I'd have put a God-damn baby rein on you to keep you where I can see you." A large furrow formed on Gordon's forehead and he groaned. "I…I…I'm sorry," he croaked. "It's just I…I'm just scared that I'm going to end up going home alone, you know? Do…do…Al, do whatever it is you're doing and then just come and be with me. Stay with me. Don't leave me." The last three words were said as barely more than a whisper before Gordon keyed his watch, let out a scream and then turned and kicked out at the Firefly as hard as he could.

He kicked the defenceless yellow machine several more times and would have continued to do so if Andy, who had hurried a short distance away when Gordon had begun to talk to Alan, hadn't stepped forwards, wrapped his arms around him and pulled him away. "That'll do no one any good," he said softly. "Yes, you want someone or something to blame, to rage at, but breaking your foot's not going to help. It's not going to bring your buddies back and it sure as hell ain't going to help you fly everyone out of here. What…what the heck is that?"

Alan had reached and entered Thunderbird 2 while Andy had been speaking. He powered up the large green behemoth and adjusted the controls to make her rise slowly from the floor. Two kicked up a large amount of dust and grit but eventually she was airborne and then slowly, and almost imperceptibly, she crept forwards.

Gordon watched with a frown of consternation on his face as Thunderbird 2 rose up from behind the nearby buildings and then seemed to hover pointlessly for a moment before she finally began heading towards him. He looked around the site and wondered at Alan's plan. Due to his moment of panic he'd never heard what Alan was going to do and he wondered suddenly if Alan was simply going to lift the Firefly up with Two's grabs.

"Al," he called into his watch. "We're not ready for you down here. You can't take the 'fly yet; she's still…um…occupied."

"I'm not taking her," Alan's calmly worded reply came clearly through Gordon's watch. "Just wait a minute. Oh, and you might want to tell the fire crew to stay exactly where they are. I wouldn't want to be responsible for squishing any of them."

Andy looked baffled but keyed his radio and ordered his men to remain still. He then looked up and watched in amazement as the huge bulk of Thunderbird 2 glided slowly overhead. "Where's he going with that?" he asked Gordon. "Doesn't he realise that your Scott fellow put that thing over there for a reason? There's nowhere big enough to land it here so that's why it, and the little silver one, were put over in the field."

Gordon frowned again and looked across the site, trying to see things from Alan's viewpoint. "There _wasn't_ anywhere to land her," he said slowly. "…but there is now. He's going to put her down on Unit 4, I'd put money on it. He…Alan, he likes to think out of the box. You give him a near-impossible situation and he'll come up with the craziest and least expected way of getting out of it. Some of the things he comes out with…they're amazing."

Andy smiled at Gordon's temporary bout of cheerfulness. He realised that once Two was down and settled that the real recovery work would begin in earnest. Whereas moving Scott was a relatively straight forward process, he knew that getting Virgil unpinned, removed from his seat and out of the Firefly was going to take time. Time in which the two remaining International Rescue agents would, no doubt, begin to truly absorb everything that had happened that day.


	5. Chapter 5

~#~ (Chapter 5)

Alan landed Thunderbird 2, with a loud crunch, onto the remains of Unit 4. The big green ship settled to rest amongst the wreckage of the building like a bird upon her nest, with her wings outstretched on either side. One wing overhung the outer fence of the industrial park and the other rested just inches from the front of Unit 5.

Andy whistled. "That's some precision flying," he remarked. "…and a phenomenal looking piece of kit. I mean, everyone's heard about what your machines can do but to see it up close, in the flesh so to speak, that's something else entirely."

Gordon nodded. "She was Virgil's baby," he replied sadly. "If you'd have seen some of the things he could do with her…" He stopped and shrugged. "I guess I'll be taking her home this time. I'm…I'm not authorised to fly One, that's the 'little silver one' you mentioned earlier. Alan will have to take One and I'll take Two." Gordon waved in the direction of Thunderbird 2. "Keep your eye on her a moment, you're going to want to see this."

After a short pause Two let out a shudder and began to rise up on her hydraulic legs. Higher and higher she lifted until virtually the whole pod was visible. There was another pause before the pod door swung slowly downwards and Alan stepped out.

Gordon ran across and caught his arm. "Brilliant," he murmured. "You're brilliant but you're still not leaving my sight again today. Not, at least, until we have to fly home."

Alan shook his head then leaned over and hugged Gordon to him for a moment. "Not then either," he replied. "Dad called in when he saw Two power up. I don't think he was expecting to see me in there but he told me that Tin-Tin's coming to fly One home. He pretty much wants us to stick together but he still says he doesn't want me going in there." Alan nodded towards the Firefly to clarify his statement. "He says Brains is…um…that he's getting everything ready for when we get back. Dad's insisting on a full autopsy on Scott and he's flying Agents 19 and 23 in to help."

Gordon nodded. "Agent 19? Is that the guy who patched Scott back together when he broke his leg the other year?"

"That's him," Alan replied. "And Agent 23's the new pathologist woman from Berlin. I think it's her that Dad wants mainly but Nineteen knew Scott and will be able to help Brains with Virgil."

Gordon shuddered. "Better him than me," he said softly. "I…Dad said he wants me in there but I don't know what I can do. Andy," Gordon pointed down the ramp towards the fireman who was patiently waiting at the bottom. "…says that his men will do anything I can't or won't do but, Al, I'm not too sure I can do any of it."

"Then don't," Alan replied, equally as softly. "They're trained to deal with…well, horrific injuries. I'm sure they come across them every day in car, train or plane wrecks. Yes, I know we are, and do, as well but…this is Scott…and Virgil and…" Alan stopped and waved his hand helplessly towards the Firefly. "We're not trained to deal with that."

Gordon nodded. "I'll be there," he said. "So I'll be able to tell Dad that everything was done as it should have been but I'm…I'm not going to help. I just can't."

~#~

Gordon and Alan walked down the ramp side by side, so close that their arms were touching. They met up with Andy who then left them standing at the bottom of the ramp and hurried over to speak to his men.

Not long afterwards two of the fire trucks roared to life. Slowly they followed one another over to the stricken Firefly and pulled up quietly alongside her.

"Al," Gordon said quietly, as the pair watched the firemen disembark from their vehicles. "I still don't want to put either of them in the cool room. See what you can do about the climate controls in the sickbay instead. See…see just how cold you can make it in there, anything just above freezing should be OK. They…Scott and Virgil…they deserve better than going home in that god damn box. Stay with the pod once you're done, then I know where you are."

Gordon bit hard against his bottom lip as Alan nodded and silently strode back into the pod. He gave a shaky sigh and walked slowly over to where the fire crews were discussing what they needed to do.

"You got the little guy out of the way," Andy commented. "Well done. I think we're about ready to start here."

Gordon nodded vaguely and looked up at the metal pole sticking out of the Firefly's window. "What are you going to do about that?" he asked.

Andy also looked up and then beckoned for Pete to come towards them. "Pete's team are going to be in charge of the beam," he replied. "They're going to segment it. First from the outside, so it's just protruding the window, then, once we've made a little more space inside they'll move in and shorten it again until it's a more manageable weight and length."

"Once you've made more space inside?" Gordon wrinkled his nose up. "You mean once you've got Scott out of the way?"

Andy shrugged. "Partly," he replied. "…but more than that we're going to have to do some heavy-duty dismantling of the panels in front and to the side of the driver's chair. How closely did you look at the damage that thing…" He paused and waved his hand in the direction of the beam. "…caused when it tore its way through the window?"

"I only looked at it briefly," he admitted. "I already knew that Virgil had...um…gone and I was in there primarily to look for Scott. John, our spa…um…our communications officer was worried about him 'cos he'd been yelling but had suddenly gone completely quiet. Why?"

"That thing," Andy pointed at the huge metal pole again. "…took out a chunk of the steering panel on its way through it. Your man can't have had a hold of it at the time or he'd have lost his arm for sure. The panel's distorted beyond all hope of salvage and it's going to stop us getting our gear to where we need it in order to do something about freeing Virgil from his chair."

Gordon shuddered. "Fair enough," he replied. "I don't think anyone's ever going to be driving her again anyway. I have a feeling she'll be cut up and scrapped at the earliest opportunity. Our…commander, he's a bit…um…like that." Gordon knew in his heart that none of the occupants of Tracy Island would be willing to try and rebuild the Firefly, let alone drive her again after her complete and total failure to protect Virgil. Brains would undoubtedly blame himself for some flaw that he'd manage to find in the little machine's design. Jeff would blame himself for setting up International Rescue in the first place, John would blame himself for not being on the planet and Scott…

Gordon startled badly when Andy reached out and snapped his fingers loudly. He repeated the move several times until Gordon focussed on him with a confused expression on his face.

"Don't go there again," the fireman cautioned. "Wherever that was, you don't need to go there until you've got some support around you. Got it?"

"Didn't go there deliberately," Gordon griped quietly. "It sort of snuck up on me. Um…how many of your men are you taking in with you? Do…do you want me to come in as well?"

Andy twitched the fingers of his right hand and two young, slightly-built firemen separated themselves from the group near the fire trucks and hurried over. "Ben," he said, pointing to one of them. "…and Luke. They'll be coming to help me deal with Scott. There probably won't be much space for more than the three of us so I thought you might prefer to stop by the door, like you did before."

Gordon smiled gratefully and nodded. "Thank you," he murmured. "…all of you but I feel I should be doing…" he stopped and shrugged. "…at least something to help."

"You are," Andy replied, just as quietly. "You're supervising…and you're watching out for the little guy. Who's back again, by the way."


	6. Chapter 6

~#~ (Chapter 6)

Gordon turned to where Andy was pointing. Alan was stood on the bottom of the pod's ramp, as close to Gordon as he could get without blatantly disobeying the order to remain with the pod. He watched Gordon turn around and pointed down the industrial park to where Mobile Control was sitting. He then gestured with his hand in the general direction of where Thunderbird 1 still sat, out of view.

Gordon hesitated briefly but then nodded and repeated Alan's motions, adding a sharp jab at the end in the direction of the pod. Alan looked back into the big, green carrier and shrugged before setting off towards Mobile Control to start packing up.

Andy waited for Gordon to turn back around and then motioned towards the Firefly's hatch. Gordon let out a sigh and climbed inside. He paused near the door to the cabin and dragged open the cupboard holding the bulk of the Firefly's medical supplies. With a heavy heart he pulled out two body bags and turned to hand them to Andy.

Andy smiled sympathetically, took the bags and then pulled Gordon aside to allow Luke and Ben to pass into the small cabin.

~#~

Gordon watched as Ben unclipped a collapsible stretcher from his back and set it up on the floor beside Scott. Andy then laid the first of the body bags on top of the stretcher and between them the three firemen smoothed it out.

Once the bag and stretcher were prepared it was a relatively simple process to load Scott's body into the bag. Ben held his head and shoulders, Luke took charge of his lower legs and Andy crouched beside him to support the main bulk of his torso. The older fireman gently manipulated Scott's arms until his hands lay upon his belly and then counted to three.

On 'three' the firemen gently lifted Scott from the floor and lay him on the base of the open bag. Andy released his grip on Scott, looked over to check on Gordon and found that the red-head had disappeared. He nodded to the others to zip up the bag and scrambled to his feet.

~#~

Andy soon discovered that Gordon hadn't gone far. He stepped through the cabin doorway only to find the aquanaut pressed in against the corner where bulkhead and the medical supplies cabinet met. Gordon, who had his arms wrapped around himself, watched him approach and grimaced. "S…s…sorry," he whispered. "W-worse than I imagined."

Andy nodded sympathetically and leant against the wall beside Gordon. "I understand," he murmured. "Remember? It's one thing when it's a stranger but it's completely different when it's someone you've known for years and have grown to care for." Gordon nodded slightly and then shrugged. Andy pursed his lips and studied the other man for a moment before continuing. "Scott looked, for all intents and purposes, like he could have been sleeping. If our moving him affected you as deeply as it seems to have then I think it might be for the best if you weren't here when we move Virgil. By all means stay, watch, observe or whatever while we get things organised in here but don't…don't be here when we move him."

Gordon sighed deeply and nodded again. "I think…I think that's probably a good idea," he said slowly. "I…um…yeah. I'll stay back here, though, until…until you're ready to move him. I guess Al…Alan, I mean, will have to stay put in the pod once Scott's…um…on-board. Have…have you got someone who can stay with him while I'm in here?"

Andy nodded. "That's the other reason I picked those two," he inclined his head in the direction of the door to the cabin. "…to help with Scott. They're our young'uns and I figured that you and your little man would feel more at ease with them rather than a couple of the…um…bigger guys."

Gordon cocked his head questioningly at the fireman's words. "What do you mean by that?"

Andy raised his hands in a pacifying gesture. "I don't mean anything bad," he replied. "Just that you're obviously sheltering your youngster from the worst of what's happening here and yet you're no more than two, maybe three years older than him, at most. I understand that you're doing your best in an awful situation and that you're holding it together as best you can but Gordon, you're younger than most of my men. Your man in there, Scott, he was in charge of your squad, yes?" Gordon frowned a little and then nodded. "And Virgil?" Andy continued. "He was what? Scott's second in command?" Gordon shrugged and then nodded again. "Right, well that'd be like me, Petey and a couple of the other old-timers leaving Ben, Luke and Stevie to cope on their own. Don't get me wrong, they'd manage it for a while but at some point everything'd come crashing down on them. I'm sure I'm not explaining myself very well but basically I'm not just looking out for the little guy, I'm looking out for you as well. OK?"

"I guess so," Gordon nodded again and looked thoughtful. "So what happens now?"

Andy stepped back and looked through the door into the cabin. He noticed that his men inside had used the time he'd been talking to Gorgon to wrap Virgil carefully in several silver space blankets and he nodded his approval before turning back to Gordon. "We're ready," he replied quietly. "If you want to lead the way?"

~#~

Ben, Luke and Andy transferred the bag containing Scott's body onto one of the beds in Thunderbird 2's bitterly cold sickbay and then hung back while Gordon strapped him down. The red-head fought back tears as he wrapped the straps around Scott's chest, hips and legs and then let out a quiet sob when he realised that he was soon going to have to do the same thing to Virgil.

Andy stepped forwards and rested a hand on Gordon's shoulder before gently pressing the distraught young man back in the direction of the door.

~#~

Gordon walked slowly through the pod, flanked by the firemen. A shout was heard from outside and the four men hurried out onto the large ramp-like door, just in time to see a large section of the metal beam drop to the floor. The two men who had been sitting up on the Firefly's domed nose rappelled back down to the floor on the lines that had been holding them there and Gordon watched as another couple of men harnessed the beam to one of their trucks and towed it a short distance out of the way.

Gordon jumped when he felt a hand slip into his. He turned to find that Alan had returned and gave his hand an answering squeeze. "You need to stay with the pod now," he said quietly. "...but stay out of the sickbay. I'm…I'm going back in there," Gordon nodded towards the Firefly. "…to keep an eye on what's being done to Virgil. These guys are going to sit with you until I come back."

Alan was about to voice his usual complaint about not needing a babysitter when he noticed the stress-lines that were aging Gordon's usually youthful face. "OK," he murmured. "I'll stay put but I'm staying out here so you'll know where I am if you want me. I've spoken to Tin-Tin, she's in the Ladybird and she'll be landing in just under an hour. She's arranged for one of the airport police to bring her here but I…Gords, I don't get how the Ladybird being dumped at the airport isn't a security risk. Someone only needs to check her numbers and…well…"

Gordon looked from side to side at the firemen who were stoically ignoring the two brothers' quiet conversation. He squeezed Alan's hand again and gave him a small but genuine smile. "It's the only thing they could have sent," he replied. "The only address that anyone's going to come up with, if they think to cross-check the Ladybird's numbers, is a certain large mansion in Gloucestershire. That information, however, will get them nowhere, seeing as no-one fitting Tin-Tin's description has ever lived there."

Alan nodded. "Oh," he replied. "That's…er…clever. Um…do you know that Penny and Parker have been asked to collect John? Da…er…the commander's called in huge bunch of markers and there's a shuttle going up to get him. They're going to take him to the Vandenberg Air Force Base and Penny's going to meet him there. I didn't really get how long that'll all take or when he'll be back but I think it might be sometime tomorrow."

Gordon sighed deeply. "John won't be happy with that," he murmured. "Actually, I doubt either of them will be but I don't suppose there's really any other option." He gave Alan's hand a last squeeze. "Stay here with the guys and behave yourself. I'm going to get Virgil."

Without another word, Gordon stepped off the edge of the ramp and strode towards the Firefly. Andy hurried after him and cast a quick, backwards glance at Ben, Luke and Alan, who stepped backwards and sat down on the edge of the pod floor with his feet resting on the top of the door.

~#~

Gordon stood beside the door and watched as Andy, Pete and two other firemen set about dismantling the interior of the Firefly around Virgil's chair. Panels were piled into neat stacks on the other side of the cabin and small or broken parts were stowed up in the various storage lockers around the Firefly in case Brains wanted to study, salvage or analyse any of them.

The firemen cleared a reasonable amount of space around the stricken pilot and then moved outside to collect the cutting gear that would enable them to work on the beam pinning Virgil in place. Gordon watched silently from the doorway and only reacted to, or interacted with the other men when they addressed him directly.

~#~

The firemen shored up the metal beam, as close in against Virgil's leg as they could. They used the cutting gear and shortened the pole until it was free of the window and then shortened it again until it was little more than a metre in length.

Andy wandered across to Gordon and explained that the next stage was for them to cut the beam as close to Virgil's body as possible. Pete cut a hole in a fire-blanket and slipped it over the beam so that it covered Virgil's legs and upper torso and then stopped and looked across to where Gordon and Andy were standing.

Gordon let out a shaky sigh and took Pete's look to mean that it was probably time for him to stop watching. He looked from Pete, to Virgil and then up at Andy who nodded back at him. "Go and sit with your man," the fireman said quietly. "I'll come and get you when we're done in here."

Gordon took a last look at the human-shaped silver-blanket-covered mass in Virgil's chair and then turned and slowly clambered up and out of the hatch.


	7. Chapter 7

~#~ (Chapter 7)

Gordon stumbled midway between the Firefly and Thunderbird 2. He stopped, shook his head to clear away the tears that were disrupting his vision and then sagged into the arms which he felt wrapping around him as he was pulled into the centre of a tight three-way embrace.

He clung tightly to Alan and Tin-Tin for a moment before pulling back and looking towards the open pod of Thunderbird 2 where Ben and Luke were watching them. "The guys stayed with you the whole time?" he asked. "I assumed they'd just disappear once Tin-Tin arrived."

Alan shook his head. "They claim to have nowhere to go," he replied. "The rest of the unit are busy doing…um…things over there." He nodded backwards towards the Firefly "…and they said that we still needed them so they stayed there."

Gordon nodded and then gently pushed against Alan and Tin-Tin to get them moving back towards Thunderbird 2.

The three hit the bottom of the ramp at the same time as one another and Gordon found himself propelled up the slope and then pressed to sit down at the edge of the pod's cavernous mouth. Tin-Tin reached past him and pulled a flask from a cubby-hole just inside the pod. She poured out a large mug of hot, milky coffee and forced it into Gordon's hands before the red-head could think about objecting.

Gordon took a sip of the drink and sighed deeply. He looked around to find Alan sitting nearby at the top of the ramp and held his arm out towards his brother. "Al," he said quietly. "You're too far away. Come here."

Alan looked at the short distance between himself and Gordon and shrugged before scooting sideways until he was settled underneath Gordon's arm. "Better?"

Gordon took another sip of his coffee and nodded. "Yep."

~#~

Sandwiched in the warm space between Alan and Tin-Tin, Gordon didn't stand much of a chance of staying awake but the pair found that he continuously awoke every couple of minutes to check on Alan. Alan, for his part, recognised that Gordon was simply terrified of losing him and eventually snuggled tight up against his brother's side to allow Gordon to get at least some sort of respite from the horrors of the day.

It was nearly three quarters of an hour later when Andy finally climbed out of the Firefly and made his way over to Thunderbird 2.

Alan reached up and gently shook Gordon to rouse him from the fitful doze he'd fallen into. "Gordon," he hissed. "Gords, wake up. You're needed."

Gordon's eyes sprang open and he made a grab for Alan's hand to steady himself when he realised that Alan was no longer supporting most of his weight. Alan scrambled to his feet, pulled Gordon up after him and turned to watch as Andy started up the ramp towards them.

Andy nodded to Ben and Luke who were sat a little further down the ramp than the other three. Tin-Tin and Alan had so very clearly taken control of Gordon when he'd left the Firefly that the two men had felt that they shouldn't interfere. They had remained with the pod in case the International Rescue crew members needed them but had moved a short distance from them to give them a modicum of privacy.

~#~

Andy tipped his head towards Tin-Tin and smiled briefly at Alan before beckoning Gordon away from the youngsters.

Once the two men were a reasonable distance from Alan and Tin-Tin, Andy stopped Gordon and spoke quietly to him. "Virgil's as ready as we can make him," he said. "…but due to the nature and extent of his injuries we decided to leave the end of the beam in place. We cut it as short as possible at the front but then discovered that we couldn't free Virgil from his seat without causing a great deal more damage to his body. We were forced to dismantle what we could of the seat back and left the material which was closest to your man exactly where it was. We've bound everything together as best we can but whoever meets you at the other end needs to be warned that it's not pretty."

Gordon gulped and was suddenly glad that he only had the one, single cup of coffee to try and keep in his stomach. "I…we…there'll be full medical team waiting for us. S…s…some drafted in especially due to the…um…circumstances."

Andy nodded. "We've packed out the bottom of the stretcher so as to accommodate the protruding end of the beam. It looks a bit ungainly but it's serving a purpose so you'll need to take him, stretcher and all. Any extra pressure on there will…well, just take it from me, it wouldn't be good."

Gordon gulped again and turned to look over to where Tin-Tin and Alan were standing. He noticed that Alan was holding tightly to Tin-Tin's hand and he smiled sadly to himself before stepping back towards them.

"Virgil's ready," he said softly. "I was going to suggest that you should go and start to get Thunderbird 1 ready for take-off while we load him but then I remembered that we'll still need to get the Firefly sorted. You need to be here for that, Al, but I won't be able to leave Two to come and get you. I…I know it's not far and I know you were wandering around on your own earlier but I can't handle that right now. I need to know where you are and that you're safe…both of you."

Tin-Tin stepped forwards and rested a hand on Gordon's arm. "Ben and Luke could accompany us," she suggested. "…and you don't need to worry about them getting too close to One because there would be no need. If they were just keeping an eye on us, they could wait nearby then they could escort Alan back here once I'm locked inside One."

Alan nodded his agreement. "I'll stay there until you tell me I can come back and you can monitor my watch if you're still worried."

Gordon looked torn for a moment but eventually nodded. "Stay there until I tell you," he echoed. "…and then come straight back here once Tin-Tin's secure. Tin…wait for us?"

Tin-Tin reached up and wrapped her arms around Gordon's neck. "Of course I will," she replied quietly. "I'll be with you the whole way home. Are you sure you don't want us here for moral support when they bring him out?"

Gordon flicked his eyes in Alan's direction and sighed. "It's for the best," he murmured. "I was there when they moved Scott and I'm going to be there for Virgil too. It's…I don't know, it's right somehow. Once we're done in there I'll shout Alan and he can come back and load the 'fly then we can go home. You need to let me go now, Tin. I'm barely holding it together as it is and if you keep trying to comfort me I'm very likely to fall completely apart."

Tin-Tin placed a chaste kiss on Gordon's cheek and stepped back to retake Alan's hand. "We'll be with One. Don't forget to shout when you want Alan to come back."


	8. Chapter 8

~#~ (Chapter 8)

Andy stood by the Firefly and watched as Tin-Tin, Alan, Ben and Luke walked away. He motioned for his men to start unloading Virgil and wandered over to Gordon.

"Well done again," he said as he approached. "Have the four of them gone to the other ship? Your Thunderbird 1?"

Gordon nodded. "Yeah. Tin-Tin's going to stay there and the others'll come back when I send for them." He turned and watched as a pair of burly firemen slowly walked across the site with Virgil's stretcher. "I see what you mean about the padding. I take it you'll be OK with us taking the stretcher? You won't get in trouble or anything?"

Andy let out a snort. "Not likely," he replied. "…and if anyone thinks about trying anything on then I'll just pay for the replacement myself. It's no big deal; I'm sure I'll explain it, the boss'll grumble then he'll go away and think about it and it'll never be mentioned again. OK?"

Gordon nodded. "OK."

~#~

It didn't take long to get Virgil loaded into the sickbay. Gordon asked the firemen to lay him on the bed which sat at right angles to the one Scott was lying on and then carefully strapped him down.

"I'd like a minute alone," he told Andy, who had remained with him when the others went back outside.

Andy nodded. "I'll get the lads to clear a path between your two machines," he replied. "That way it'll be quicker and easier to get the little yellow one inside. I'll be outside if you need me."

Gordon nodded and stepped into the gap created between the ends of both beds. He rested a hand on the section of each bag which held his brothers' heads and closed his eyes. "We'll be home soon, guys," he whispered. "There…there'll be people waiting to take you away from me as soon as we land so I'm going to say my goodbyes now. Virg, I promise to look after this big, green bug of yours for as long as I'm capable. I'll clean, maintain and love her, just like you always have. Scotty, you…well I guess you've gone to watch over Virgil. I don't…I don't…I don't understand why you couldn't have stuck around for the rest of us…at least for a little while but…I…I guess you had your reasons." Gordon scrubbed at the tears which were trickling down his cheeks. "I…I…just don't get it, Scott. How could you do that to us? How could you leave us? Dad's a complete wreck…so's John and Grandma…God only knows how Grandma's going to react when she finds out."

Gordon's face crumbled. His knees buckled and he had to catch himself on the edge of Scott's bed to stop from falling to the floor. This had the unfortunate effect of putting Gordon's head level with Scott's and the red-head let out a heart-broken wail as he pressed his face against the cold, unforgiving plastic that held the remains of his eldest brother. "I don't know what I'm going to do without you," he cried. "I…I…I don't know what any of us are going to do."

~#~

Gordon spent another twenty minutes in the chilly, antiseptic-scented sickbay. He cried, wailed, howled and screamed until he was barely able to stand upright and then simply sat on the floor, panting, with his head resting on one of the walls.

Alan eventually began to get worried about not being called and tried to contact Gordon's watch. His calls went unanswered for several minutes but the youngest Tracy was nothing if not persistent and after six attempts, Gordon finally answered him. "Al?" he lifted his hand and peered into his watch. "You OK?"

Alan frowned at the state of Gordon's red, puffy eyes but knew better than to call his brother on it. "I'm OK," he replied softly. "It's just…you've been a while. I…I was getting worried."

Gordon sniffed loudly and wiped his nose on the cuff of his flight-suit's sleeve. "Have you heard from Dad at all?" he asked. "I might not have heard him while I've been in here. In…interference, you know? From all the equipment in here."

Alan looked blankly at this brother for a moment, knowing full well that there was nowhere inside Thunderbird 2 where Gordon's communicator watch wouldn't work. "Interference," he repeated. "Yeah, that must be why you missed him. He…he's not holding up too well, Gords. He's tearful and irritable and he's just not being himself. He's shut us down and he's had Penny put out a worldwide announcement saying that we're no longer in service. He's also seems to be filling the island with people. As well as Nineteen and Twenty-Three, there's a whole hoard of other people heading that way. Agent 7's having to go and get Twenty-Three 'cos she can't get a flight out of Germany until tomorrow. Nineteen asked if he could pick up Twelve on the way through because he reckoned that Brains would need more help than just he and Twenty-Three could give him and Dad mentioned that Agent 3 was coming too. I can't work out who Three is but a lot of them will already be there when we arrive and I…I…Gords, I don't know if I want there to be a load of strangers waiting for us."

Gordon sniffed again and a tear escaped from his left eye. "Me neither," he agreed. "I have to agree with Dad though; we _do_ need the help and we _did_ need to be shut down. It was hard enough with the five of us, now there's just three, well…" Gordon looked into Alan's eyes and shrugged.

Alan blinked several times as he mulled over Gordon's words. "You think we're shut down forever?" he asked eventually.

Gordon shrugged again. "No longer in service," he said slowly. "Not 'temporarily out of action', 'currently unavailable' or 'offline for the time being' but 'no longer in service'. That's a permanent statement, Al. Complete, permanent, everlasting and…I think he's probably right."

Alan nodded his head in understanding. "…and Agent 3?" he asked. "Do you know who he, or she, is?"

Gordon lowered his head for a moment before looking back up at his brother. "Three is Father Fletcher," he explained quietly. "He's the pastor from the church back in Kansas. You were probably just a bit too little to remember him but…but he…" Gordon stopped and sucked in a deep, shaky breath. "He buried Mom."

"Shit," Alan whispered softly. "I'm sorry, Gordon. I wouldn't have asked if I'd known. Are you OK?"

Gordon shrugged and let out a strangled chuckle. "Not really," he replied. "But I've just got to put up with that for now. Haven't I?"

Alan had no way of answering that and fell silent for a couple of seconds. "Can I come back and load the 'fly now?" he asked eventually. "Then we can go home."

"Yeah, I guess you can come back now," Gordon replied. "As long as Tin-Tin's safe and situated. I…I'm going to have a quick wash and I'll meet you on the ramp."

Alan nodded, realising that Gordon needed a few moments to compose himself before heading back into the outside world. "You do that," he whispered. "I'll wait for you if I get there first."

~#~

As it turned out, Gordon walked out onto the top of the ramp at almost the same time as Alan, Ben and Luke stepped onto the bottom of it. "Thanks guys." He nodded his thanks to Ben and Luke who stepped back off the ramp and headed back towards the fire trucks where they correctly guessed that the rest of their team were located. Once they had gone, Gordon turned back to Alan. "Is Tin-Tin secure?"

Alan nodded his head and then reached up to flatten a rogue piece of Gordon's soaking wet hair back against his head. "You're wet," he commented.

"It…it was quicker to just stick my whole head in the sink," Gordon explained with a shrug. "It…it…it seemed like a good idea at the time." He turned and motioned towards the Firefly. "How are you planning on shifting that? Do I need to use the grapples or are you just going to winch her in?"

Alan walked past him into the pod and hefted the large towing hook up and over his shoulder. "Winch," he replied. "The Mole's well out of the way so it doesn't matter how straight, or not straight, she is when she gets in there and, let's face it, if we're shut down now then she'll never be used again anyway."

Gordon nodded sadly. "I'd already thought that," he whispered. "I'm sure Dad will keep pretty much everything just how it is for the time being though. One, Two, Three and Four will stay on the island. Five…well, I don't know what he'll do with her but Johnny, sure as damn it, won't be up there any more. He's going to have to take Scott's place as 'number one son and heir to it all' now and he'll be lucky if Dad lets him out of his sight before he's fifty."

Alan nodded and started walking towards the Firefly with the winch cable trailing behind him. "Do you reckon he'll give the Mole to someone? One of the emergency services maybe? Somewhere that regularly has…I don't know, landslides or earthquakes or…something."

Gordon shrugged. "I doubt it," he replied. "I guess he might do something with the plans though. Get them out into the public domain where they can build lots of mini-moles for themselves so each country can rescue their own people more easily. He…he'll only do it if it can be done fairly though. The US, for example, wouldn't be able to make a load and keep them for themselves. He'd find a way to make sure that each country had one within a useable distance of its major cities so if something happened there'd be one, or more, available pretty much straight away. Oh, are we done here?"

While Gordon had been talking, Alan had connected the towing hook to the Firefly and used the remote control to take the slack out of the winch cable. "Yeah," he agreed. "She's ready to go. I think it'd be right to walk with her for her final journey, what do you reckon?"

"Yeah," Gordon replied. "I think that'd be good." He swallowed hard and looked up at the Firefly towering above him. "She…she's been a real workhorse over the years and she's looked after us and served us well until today. I don't…I don't think Dad will forgive her for her failing today though and I think if one single thing gets broken up, scrapped or disposed of then it'll be her." He reached up, patted the side of the machine and then waved in the direction of the pod. "I'm getting maudlin," he complained. "…and I've still got to fly us home. Get her loaded then we can say our goodbyes and get going."


	9. Chapter 9

~#~ (Chapter 9)

Alan got the Firefly up and into the pod and secured her so she wouldn't slide around during the flight home. He stood in front of the pod door, studied the machine for a moment and then climbed up the side of the Mole and removed the large, tarpaulin cover from its cutting blades.

He threw the tarpaulin's securing ropes up and over the top of the Firefly before scrambling up the side of the machine and pulling the ropes taut. Slowly and methodically Alan pulled the tarpaulin upwards until, eventually, it was covering the gaping hole in the Firefly's front window. He tied it off and then slid back to the ground and walked back onto the ramp to check his handiwork.

"Good idea," Gordon murmured as he stepped up beside him. "It would've only upset Dad more if he'd seen her like that. Al, the guys want to say goodbye to you. Don't be long."

~#~

Gordon wandered through the corridors of Thunderbird 2 until he finally reached the cockpit. He stood and stared at the pilot's chair for a moment and then sucked in a deep, cleansing breath and sat down.

After a couple of seconds he leant forwards and pressed a button on the console. "Thunderbird 2 to Base," he called. "Thunderbird 2 to Base, come i..."

Jeff answered the call before Gordon had even managed to finish his request. He gave his son a sad but genuine smile. "Gordon. It's good to see you. How are you holding up over there?"

Gordon sat and stared at his father for a moment. Alan had told him that Jeff didn't seem to be coping too well with everything that was going on but Gordon was shocked at just how many years the Tracy patriarch seemed to have aged in the past couple of hours. "I'm coping," he replied. "…sort of. How about you? And Grandma? Does Grandma know…"

Jeff held his hand up to stop what was potentially going to be a long stream of questions. "I'm doing much the same as yourself, I'd imagine. Your grandmother is well aware of everything that's happened and is currently baking who-knows-what for the various people who are going to be arriving over the next couple of days. Kyrano, Brains and myself are keeping our eye on her to make sure she doesn't overdo it but it's giving her something to occupy both her hands and her mind so, for the moment, we're leaving her be. Gordon, has Alan brought you up to speed with some of the decisions I've had to make since I spoke to you last? Has he told you about the announcement that Penny's put out on our behalf?"

Gordon nodded. "Yes," he replied. "…and word's spreading fast. The guys here, the fire crew, have heard already. I don't know whether that's because someone knew they were here with us or just because that's how fast the news is getting around."

Jeff raised his eyebrows at this. "How did they seem to be taking the news?" he asked cautiously. "I admit I was a little wary about Penny putting the announcement out before you, Alan and Tin-Tin got back but John seems to have either wiped, or locked me out of, a large portion of Thunderbird 5's memory so we're basically offline anyway."

Gordon frowned. "How's he coping?" he asked. "He's up there alone. I haven't spoken to him and Alan hasn't mentioned having any contact with him either."

Jeff frowned a little at this. "John's in a…difficult situation. He's upset, alone and as pissed as hell that he won't be here when you get back. Kaleb's working as fast as he can but it's not a five minute job to get a shuttle crewed up, fuelled and ready to go. Last thing I heard he'd been in contact with Colonel Harris who apparently leapt at the chance of helping us. He said it'd hopefully go some way towards repaying us for getting him and his crew home after the Sun Probe fiasco."

"Kaleb?" Gordon queried. "Kaleb? I…er…Benson? Kaleb Benson. Sun Probe. Ah, I see now. That's who's going up to get John? The Sun Probe team?"

Jeff nodded. "A couple of them, anyway. Camp's injured so has been banned from flying for the time being but Harris and Asher have made themselves available. John has obviously trained with, or flown with, a large number of the current astronauts so Kaleb's going to hand pick the other two crew members himself. He's the only one who knows exactly _who_ it is he's arranging to collect and he's going to take that into account when he contacts people."

Gordon fiddled with a couple of the dials in front of him for a moment. Jeff could see his son struggling with what he was going to say and sat and watched as he put his thoughts into order. "Dad," he said eventually. "Are…are we shut down permanently? As in, over, done, finito…no more?"

Jeff sighed deeply and leaned back in his chair. "I think so, Gordon. I think…I think…" Jeff stopped, ran his hands through his hair and shrugged. "Do you have an opinion on this?"

Gordon kicked off his boots and hitched his feet up onto the chair in front of his so his knees were level with his chest. He sat and picked at a loose threat on the hem of his suit and frowned for a moment before answering in a voice that was so quiet it was barely audible. "I…I think that's probably right. We…that is 'we' as in the family…have given enough over the years. I mean we basically gave up our futures at an early age to help the world. I…I'm not knocking it Dad, I mean, we all came into this willingly but...Scott and Virgil and…" Gordon stopped and scrubbed viciously at his eyes, determined to hold it together for a short while longer. "Can…can we do this later? I…I...I can't do this now. I've got to fly us…us…everyone home and I'm not going to even manage to get her off the ground if I can't see straight."

Jeff reached up and placed his fingertips on the screen. "Gords," he whispered. "You couldn't possibly know how much I'd rather be there helping you than stuck here like I am. I want the three of you, you, John and Alan, back here where I can see you. I want to gather you in my arms, like I used to when the five of you were little. I want to gather you all in my arms and I want to never let go." Twin tears escaped from each of Jeff's eyes and rolled down his face. "I want to go back to this morning and say a proper goodbye to you all when I send you out there. I want a lot of things, Gordon, but I can't have any of them."

Gordon reached out to touch Jeff's fingertip on the screen. "Me too, Dad," he murmured. "Me too. Shit." He lifted his hand from the screen and hastily wiped the tears from his face. "Al's coming," he explained. "We'll be lifting off in a moment. That's what I actually called for. We'll be home soon. OK? You can track us the whole way back if you want and I'll be in touch when we need clearance to land."


	10. Chapter 10

~#~ (Chapter 10)

Most of the journey home was quiet and blessedly uneventful. Thunderbird 1, with Tin-Tin at the helm, shadowed her much larger sister ship the whole way with just the occasional word spoken between the two as each pilot checked on the other's progress.

Shortly before the end of the journey, however, Thunderbird 2 slowed dramatically and began to shake. Alan, who was strapped into the passenger seat, a little way behind Gordon, looked around in alarm. He leaned as far out of his seat as possible and craned his neck to see the control panels in front of his brother but could see no obvious warning lights or problems.

He unbuckled himself and struggled his way to the front of the cockpit only to find that the shaking was being caused by Gordon himself. The aquanaut had his hands clamped firmly around the main control yoke, his eyes were clenched tightly shut and every now and again Alan could see a hitch in his breathing.

"Base to Thunderbird 2. Gordon, Alan, the sensors say you've stopped. Is everything alright?" Jeff's worried voice cut across Tin-Tin's "Tin-Tin to Alan and Gordon. Are you OK?" and for a moment Alan wondered if Gordon had picked up on either message.

Gordon, however, had picked up both messages but was unable to answer either of them. He let out a whimper, deep in his throat and gripped the yoke harder as he bowed his head. Alan gave him a worried look and leant across him to flick a switch on the dashboard. "Give us a moment, guys," he pleaded. "Just…give us a moment."

He flicked another couple of switches to put Thunderbird 2 into an automatic hover mode and then squatted beside his brother. "Gords," he whispered. "Hey, c'mon, we're nearly home. I can just about see the island in the distance."

Gordon let out a pained squeak and bit down hard on his bottom lip as he shook his head. Alan studied him for a moment before reaching up and gingerly wrapping his arm around his brother. "Is it a problem that we're nearly home?" he asked. "Is it because of the people who are going to be waiting when we get there? Is that what it is?"

Gordon cracked open an eye for just long enough to establish that Two's autopilot had been activated. Once he was certain that himself, Alan and Thunderbird 2 weren't going to fall into the ocean he then slowly unpeeled his hands from the control yoke. "Al," he whispered. "Al. I…I…I can't…I just…I can't."

Alan knelt up and pulled Gordon into an uncomfortably tight hug which he found being returned with a crushing strength that left him reeling. "I'm not going anywhere," he murmured. "Honestly, Gords, I'm here for the long haul. You, me and Johnny, we've got to stick together. We can't afford to fall apart. There's just too many people depending on us and…and Scott would've kicked our butts if he'd found any sign that we were letting the side down."

Gordon emitted a broken sob and clung to Alan who could feel his brother's heart beating rapidly against his chest. He rubbed Gordon's back and then sat, patting him gently in a hope that he'd calm down enough to either speak to him or fly them home. "Gords," he said softly. "Gords, you're starting to scare me now. I know this is big and horrible and…and…unfathomable but I can't do it without you. I need you to take me home…in fact we all need you to take us home. It's…there's…I can understand where you're coming from with the going home thing. It'll be awful but…well…we can't hang here forever."

Gordon shook his head and sniffed loudly against Alan's chest. "We probably could," he muttered. "…and much as it sounds like a great idea, I can also see the appeal of not doing so."

Alan frowned at Gordon's quietly spoken words. "What does that mean?" he asked. "You're not making any sense."

Gordon pulled himself back up out of Alan's arms and scrubbed at his eyes. "No," he agreed. "I'm probably not. I…I just need a minute to get my head round this and then we can go. I'm…we…when we land it's…well, it's sort of over. Scott and Virgil, they'll be…I don't know, _really_ gone, I suppose. There'll be people waiting to take them away from us for…for…forever and we'll never see them again. While…while we're out here they're…um…they're sort of still here as well. Scott could be out there in One and Virgil could be doing I-don't-know-what down in the sickbay. Or…or maybe Scott's got himself bashed up like usual and Virgil's down there fussing over him like the big old mother hen that he is or…er…was. Do you get what I'm trying to say? While we're here they're here…even though they're not."

Alan nodded and wiped at the tears that had escaped from his own eyes. "There's five of us now but really there's only three of us. That's what you mean, isn't it?" he asked and then let out a sob. "…and until John gets back there'll only be two. There…there's never been only t…t…two."

It was Gordon's turn to wrap his arms around Alan. "I'm sorry," he cried. "I'm upsetting you when I should be supporting you. I just…it just…" Gordon shrugged and made a low, frustrated growl. "I don't know what it is," he said eventually. "…but it's shit, whatever it is."

Alan let out a strangled, muted chuckle and gave Gordon's chest a tight squeeze. "I think we should go," he murmured as he pulled away. "It's not doing anyone, any good, just hanging here. Yes, it's shit, and yes, it'll be the end of an era but…well…I just think we need to go home and get it over and done with."

Gordon managed to shrug and nod at the same time which left Alan looking a little baffled for a moment before Gordon nodded his head in the direction of the passenger seat. "Strap yourself back in," he said quietly. "I'm taking us home."

~#~

Tin-Tin kept Thunderbird 1 close to Two until Gordon began lowering her down towards the runway and the open hangar door. She then peeled One up and away over the island to drop her into the cavernous hole beneath the swimming pool.

Gordon brought Two to a gentle stop inside her hangar and looked out through the window to see Jeff and Kyrano waiting up on the gantry with a man who he immediately recognised as Father Fletcher. He met Jeff's eyes across the vast space and was rewarded with a small smile and a hand motion that clearly told him to stay put.

Gordon reached backwards and found Alan's hand before pulling his brother around the back of his chair and onto the cushion beside him. "Dad's coming for us," he explained and nodded out of the window to where Jeff could be seen descending the steps in front of them. "That's Father Fletcher with him. Otherwise known as Agent 3. I've got no idea how Dad got him here so quickly but there's a whole heap of planes down there." He pointed to the sidewall of Thunderbird 2 but Alan understood that he meant on the far side of the hangar beyond the green, metallic wall. "…but I couldn't see any other people. Dad's probably told them to keep out of the way so as not to overwhelm the pair of us."

Alan nodded and snuggled in against Gordon's side while they waited for their father.


	11. Chapter 11

~#~ (Chapter 11)

Jeff appeared a little less than five minutes later, alone and looking tired and drawn as he wandered through the door to Thunderbird 2's cabin. He pulled Gordon and Alan into his arms and the three clung to one another for several minutes until Jeff held Gordon out at arm's length and studied him. He repeated the process with Alan and then tucked one son under each arm and urged them gently towards the door.

He walked the pair of them out of Thunderbird 2, across the hangar and up into the house. Kyrano appeared behind them just before the hangar door and followed them silently into the kitchen where Jeff pushed the two boys towards their grandmother.

Ruth sped across the room and wrapped Gordon and then Alan into a tearful hug. "My boys," she cried. "Oh my poor boys. What you've been through today…"

The pair clung to their grandmother, seeking reassurance from her as much as she was from them. Jeff stood in the doorway beside Kyrano and watched until it became clear that everything was starting to become too much for Gordon. The red-head had looked tearful from the moment he'd stepped out of Thunderbird 2 but he suddenly became more-so and very clingy.

Jeff stepped in extracted the boys from Ruth's grasp. Ruth gave him a scandalised look which clearly said 'how dare you' until Jeff motioned towards Gordon with his eyes. He raised his eyebrows towards the aquanaut and inclined his head in the direction of the door before smiling at his mother when a look of understanding came over her face. The elderly woman hugged both her grandsons again and suggested that the two of them deserved a nap. She promised to have food ready for them when they were finished sleeping and then stood on her tiptoes, kissed them both and watched sadly as Jeff escorted them out of the kitchen.

~#~

Jeff gently propelled the boys through the house and down into the corridor that held the bedrooms. The large adjoining, folding wall between Alan and Gordon's sitting-rooms had been pulled wide open, making one huge room and the rooms to the bedrooms were also wedged open. Alan stopped dead when he walked in and saw the odd configuration of the rooms but one glance at the silent ghost-like Gordon told him that Jeff's, or more likely Kyrano's, arrangement had been a good idea.

He took Gordon's hand, towed him into his bedroom and gently pushed him to sit down on the bed. Jeff followed the pair and sat down beside Gordon so he could remove his sash, hat and pin while Alan took off his own. Alan then toed off his boots and kicked them under the bed before lying down and pulling Gordon down beside him. It was at that point that Jeff realised that Gordon had left Thunderbird 2 clad just in his socks. He had taken his boots off while talking to Jeff before flying home and had never put back them on.

Gordon remained completely placid and eventually allowed himself to be manhandled under the bedcovers. He pulled his face tight against Alan's neck and remained silent while Jeff turned down the lights in both the sitting-room and bedroom. Jeff then covered the two boys with a blanket and pulled an armchair up beside the bed before sitting down and leaning back comfortably to keep watch over his traumatised sons.

~#~

Jeff had been called away when, several hours later, the nightmares started. Gordon quivered slightly and started shaking before he suddenly let out a scream and launched himself straight out of Alan's arms, off the bed and onto the floor.

He continued to scream as Kyrano leapt out of the chair and hurried around the bed to help Alan who had scrambled to the floor after his brother. Alan was having no luck getting through to Gordon who was still trapped in the horrors of his nightmare so Kyrano tore the blanket from the bed, wrapped it around the aquanaut and effectively pulled him onto his lap on the floor.

Gordon's screams died down almost instantly and morphed into a high-pitched keening cry. Alan took one look at his distraught brother and burst into tears so Kyrano removed his right arm from around Gordon and held it out for the youngest Tracy to slip underneath. Alan didn't need asking twice and scooted across the floor until he was tightly pressed against Kyrano's side, as close to both the Malaysian man and his brother as he could get. Kyrano stroked his hair for a moment and then kissed the top of his head before turning most of his attention back to Gordon.

Kyrano tried speaking to Gordon, patting him, rocking him and gently shaking him but nothing proved successful in breaking through the night-terror that the red-head had become trapped in. The longer Gordon stayed locked in the nightmare, the more upset Alan became and Kyrano had two near-hysterical boys on his hands by the time that Brains and Jeff ran in, alerted by the noise.

Jeff took Alan from Kyrano and held him while Brains pulled back Gordon's flight-suit and injected a light but fast-acting sedative into the muscle in his shoulder. Gordon's cries grew gradually weaker until he fell suddenly quiet and slumped against Kyrano's chest.

Brains turned to Jeff, only to find that the Tracy patriarch was totally involved with his youngest son. Despite being fully grown and slightly taller than Jeff, Alan had managed to curl himself into the space between his father's legs and had buried his face against Jeff's chest. Jeff had rested his cheek on Alan's head to comfort him and then followed Kyrano's lead by wrapping a sheet from the bed around his son's upper body. He hugged Alan to him using both his arms and his legs and then petted him and whispered nonsense to him until he eventually calmed down.

Jeff looked up to find Brains watching him. "Will he be alright?" he asked shakily, nodding towards Gordon. "He…he seemed to take an awfully long time to…um…stop."

Brains nodded and looked at Kyrano who answered for him. "Mr Tracy," he said softly. "Your boys have been through the most traumatic of experiences today. One which I, for one, could not have foretold even just this morning. They are strong, your sons, as they always have been but as you yourself demonstrated earlier today, even the strongest among us have the capability to fracture or split if they are pushed beyond their limits. Master Gordon was forced to remain composed in the face of much hardship and had to remain stoic and professional in front of Master Alan and the fire crews who were assisting with the rescue operation. After facing all that he then had to fly Masters Alan, Scott and Virgil home in a craft which he is not accustomed to piloting alone. I think it was to be expected that something like this may occur at some point or other."

Jeff nodded sadly and looked across at Brains. "Am I to assume, by the very fact that you had a loaded hypodermic in your pocket, that you also expected a breakdown of this magnitude to happen tonight?"

Brains looked sheepish and shuffled over to sit on the end of Gordon's bed. "I…I…I admit to being pre-prepared for the possibility," he said quietly. "Al-although I wa-wa-wasn't expecting it to be G-Gordon that I was se-se-sedating."

Jeff frowned slightly and looked down at the tousled head of hair that he was cuddling. "This one?" he asked softly. "You expected Alan to be the one who…um…broke?"

Alan mumbled something against Jeff's chest. Jeff looked at Kyrano and Brains in a hope that they had managed to catch what had been said but both men looked at him blankly. "Alan," he murmured. "Try again. I couldn't make out what you said."

Alan stayed glued to Jeff but turned his head to one side so his face was partially visible. "I said 'Don't call him broken'," he explained. "He's not 'broken', he's just been through way, way too much today. It's the same reason that we stopped just before we got back. He…he literally couldn't go on. He said that there'd be people waiting to take Scott and Virgil away from us when we got back and that at that point they'd be really gone."

Jeff gently stroked Alan's hair as he looked over to where Gordon was quietly sleeping in Kyrano's arms. "Why do you think I got the pair of you out of there as fast as I did?" he asked. "There were _several_ people waiting to take Scott and Virgil out of Two. They're people who are trained and practiced at dealing with…that sort of thing on a daily basis and I didn't want Gordon having to deal with your brothers any more than he absolutely had to. This end I could, thankfully, do something about that but at the other end, the industrial estate end, unfortunately, I couldn't. Gordon had already seen and been exposed to what had happened to Scott and Virgil so the only course of action I could take in that respect was to protect you from being exposed to it too. While I understand that it was hard for Gordon to see your brothers like that I had to acknowledge that it would have been even harder for you due to your age and lack of military training. Am I making myself clear?"

Alan scrunched up his forehead for a moment before replying. "Not really but I get what you're trying to say. I think. Why…why…um…why did you think it'd be me that would flip though? I don't know…well, I don't really know _anything_, apart from the obvious. Scott and Virgil are gone but I don't know how or why or...whatever. I mean, I saw the damage to the Firefly so I've pretty much worked out what happened to Virgil but I don't have a clue about, or understand, what happened to Scott. He wasn't in the Firefly when the beam hit it; we heard that much over the radio before we got cut off but after that we didn't hear anything until you and John told us to finish up and get ready to bring Virgil home. John apparently made contact with Gordon at some point after that to tell him to check on Scott and that's when he found…well, you know what he found."

Alan turned his face back against his father's chest and Jeff realised that his son's part of the conversation was over. He continued to stroke his hands through Alan's hair as he thought through the things the young man had said. "It wasn't me expected you to break," he whispered. "I only wanted to protect you from experiencing such a traumatic event first-hand when there was, frankly, no need for it. Gordon had already observed, explained and been upset by your brothers'…condition. He would, no doubt, have suffered an attack like the one we've just seen no matter whether he had gone in there again or not."

Brains nodded and leant forwards to rest his hand on Alan's shoulder. Alan flinched at the touch so he withdrew his arm and sat back on the bed looking slightly hurt. "A-A-Alan," he stuttered. "I-I'm sorry if I d-d-doubted you. I was un-un-unaware that you knew so little about-about what had happened. On a no-normal day, out-out-out of the two of you, G-G-Gordon and yourself I-I-I mean, out of the t-t-two of you I would have e-e-expected for it to be y-you that might…er…flip, as I b-believe you put it. You-you-you have to ad-admit that you're m-more high-high-highly strung than your b-brother. G-G-Gordon is u-usually the most calm-calm-calm and less-less easily riled of you all so-so I would n-n-never have guessed it would be him ra-ra-rather than yourself."

Alan managed to shrug without showing his face and remained quiet. Jeff looked across at Brains and shook his head with an apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry, Brains," he murmured. "…but I don't think Alan's up to talking any more tonight. Are you, Alan?" Alan shook his head which made Jeff smile tenderly and he pulled Alan even closer and kissed his hair. "Alan, son, would you let me help you back onto the bed? It'll be more comfortable for you there and if you fall asleep down here with me then I'm going to disturb you when I try and move you."

Alan shook his head viciously and mumbled against Jeff's chest for a moment before turning his head to the side again. "Not 'til I know what you're doing with Gordy," he rasped. "If he's not staying in here then I'm not either. If you're taking him downstairs then I'm going too. You're not splitting us up, Dad, not now, no way."

Jeff shook his head. "I wouldn't dream of splitting the pair of you up at the moment," he agreed. "You need each other, now probably more than ever before. As for taking Gordon downstairs…that's not going to happen. The sickroom is…well, let's just say that it's out of bounds until further notice. You must not, under any circumstances, go down there or go inside and I'll be reiterating this to Gordon when he wakes up."

"There's n-n-no reason that Gordon can't s-stay in here with A-A-Alan," Brains offered quietly. "S-S-Someone will need to s-sit and watch him b-b-but it had all-all-already been a-agreed that the two, ah, boys wouldn't be left unattended for a-any length of ti-ti-time. I don't see a p…a p…a problem with just continuing with the original idea of s-s-someone remaining here the enti-entire night."

Jeff nodded and looked across at Kyrano who inclined his head. "I concur," the Malaysian man agreed softly. "…and I, again, extend my offer to remain here during the periods tonight when you are otherwise engaged."

Jeff nodded thankfully and directed his attention back to Alan. "Is that alright?" he asked. "If Kyrano, Brains and myself take shifts in here to watch over yourself and Gordon? I would do the whole night myself but, as Kyrano pointed out, I am unable to do so due to other…um…commitments. I will be here when you wake though. I promise you that."

Alan unwrapped one of his arms from around Jeff's back and reached out to take his father's hand. He interlinked their fingers and squeezed. "I…can I...Dad, I don't want to go back to my own room," he admitted quietly. "I…I want Gordy back in with me. That's…that's how we were, before…" Alan waved his hand vaguely in Gordon's direction. "…before that."

Jeff nodded again. "I know that," he replied. "…and I have no problem with that at all. I meant it when I said I wouldn't split you up, Al and I know you were in here with Gordon rather than in your own room, I helped you put him to bed, if you remember. Let me help get you up and settled then we can get Gordon off the floor and back into bed. I've got a few more things to arrange this evening so I'll leave you with Kyrano but I _will_ be back, just as soon as I possibly can be."

Alan shifted sluggishly but eventually managed to get his legs into a position where he could push himself off the floor. Jeff threw the sheet to Brains who smoothed it back down over the mattress and then held his arm out to help Alan stagger to the bed.

Alan diverted to the bathroom at the last minute before returning and flopping down onto the newly made bed. He watched tiredly as Jeff and Brains lifted Gordon gently up off Kyrano's knee and half dragged, half carried him over to the bed. Alan held out his arms and tugged Gordon tightly against him while Kyrano fussed about, covering them with the blanket that he'd pulled from the bed earlier in the evening. The gentle Malaysian man realised that Alan was watching him and bowed his head slightly before reaching across to gently rest his hand on the young man's hair. He bowed his head further, remained quiet for a couple of seconds and then moved away to sit himself neatly in the chair, just out of Alan's sight.

Alan raised his head up slightly to meet the kiss which Jeff pressed against his forehead. "Go to sleep, son," the Tracy patriarch whispered quietly. "…and I'll be here when you wake up." Alan blinked at him, closed his eyes and then immediately opened them again. Jeff shook his head. "Go. To. Sleep," he repeated. "Gordon's safe and we're keeping watch so you don't have to. Go. To. Sleep."

Alan closed his eyes and this time they remained closed. Jeff stood beside him for several more minutes until he was certain that his youngest son was deeply asleep and then turned sadly away and trudged slowly away through the door, in the direction of his office.


	12. Chapter 12

~#~ (Chapter 12)

Gordon awoke in the early hours of the next morning, completely disorientated and still wrapped tightly within Alan's arms. He lay motionless in the safety of his brother's embrace for several minutes until his very full bladder demanded urgent attention. He untangled himself from Alan's arms and startled badly when Jeff appeared behind him and snuck a pillow into the space he'd just slipped out of.

Alan mumbled in his sleep and then, without waking, latched onto the pillow and hugged it closely. Jeff smiled down at him and turned to Gordon who was watching him with his hand clasped against his head. "I think you may have been heading for the bathroom," he said softly. "Go and I'll have something ready to sort your headache when you get back." Gordon rubbed at his head and looked blearily around. Jeff smiled again and pointed towards the bathroom. "Go and pee. I'll see you in a minute."

Gordon wandered away and Jeff heard a click as the bathroom door swung closed. Alan let out a snuffle and then a sigh and rolled onto his back before falling quiet again. Jeff rolled his eyes at his youngest son and then fished around in his pocket for the bottle of tablets which Brains had given him for when Gordon finally woke up.

~#~

Gordon ambled back into the room, still rubbing his head and walked straight into his father's outstretched arms. Jeff hugged him closely for a moment and then reached over to the bedside table and grabbed a bottle of water. He pushed Gordon gently down onto the chair beside the bed and pressed the bottle into his right hand. Gordon closed his eyes, took a swig of the water and blindly held his hand out for the headache relief which Jeff had promised him.

Gordon downed the tablets and then sat quietly, massaging his head. Eventually he opened his eyes and looked up at Jeff. "Who stuck me with what?" he asked. "…and why?"

Jeff sighed and sat carefully on the bed beside Alan. "How much of last night do you remember?" he asked in reply.

"I…er…" Gordon stopped and thought for a moment. "I remember landing and waiting for you to come and get us and I remember hugging Grandma but…no, it's all pretty blank from there on in. I certainly don't remember coming in here or getting into bed. I take it that's why I'm still wearing this?" He pulled at the front of his flight suit with a questioning look on his face. "Al…oh, he is as well? Did we just crash after we got back or something?"

Jeff smiled sadly. "Something like that," he replied. "I took you to see your grandmother, as you remember and while you were with her you sort of…well, faded out on us. You couldn't, or wouldn't let go of Alan and you became extremely tearful. Alan and I brought you in here, removed the extraneous and easily detachable pieces of your uniform and put you to bed. You basically let us do whatever we wanted with you and then cuddled up to Alan and fell asleep."

Gordon nodded thoughtfully. "I don't remember any of that," he murmured. "…and it doesn't explain why someone felt the need to pump drugs into me. It sounds like I was docile enough so why stick me?"

Jeff leant forwards and ran his fingers through his hair before looking up at Gordon and sighing. "I know you have a deep aversion to any foreign substances being added to your blood stream against your will but, in all honesty, this couldn't be helped. You went to sleep with Alan and stayed that way for several hours, the first hour and a half of which I spent in here with you. I was called away by the doctors who are caring for…um…that's the doctors who are dealing with Scott and Virgil. They needed to discuss several things with me and time, as it often does, passed faster that I could have envisaged. Luckily I had taken Brains' advice and left Kyrano in here when I'd gone out because when he and I returned to the house it became clear that there were problems in here. You were in the throes of a nightmare which Kyrano was unable to break you out of and your distress was upsetting this one…" Jeff paused and rested his hand on Alan's hip. "…to the point of near-hysteria. Brains had no option other than to administer a fast-acting sedative to…well, to stop you and to calm everything and everyone down."

Alan rolled fully over and opened his eyes. "It wasn't that fast acting," he commented. "You didn't stop straight away, you were wailing and shrieking like a banshee until you suddenly went, well, sort of, 'clonk'."

"Really?" Gordon asked. "Shit. Well, I…I'm sorry. I don't remember any of that. Not a single bit of it."

"I can't say I'm surprised because you never really woke up," Jeff said softly. "You were trapped in a nightmare that you couldn't escape from and the only sensible solution at the time was to take you down to a deeper level of unconsciousness. Brains deemed it safe for you to stay in here for the rest of the night but Kyrano sat with you for a short while, as did Brains and then I took over and, well, here we are."

"Did you get any sleep?" Alan asked. "In a bed, I mean?"

Jeff shook his head. "No," he admitted. "I catnapped in the chair though. I've done it before and I'm sure I'll do it again. Mother will have my hide if she finds out."

"Will Grandma be upset that we didn't get back to her for dinner, or whatever it was she was offering to cook for us?" Alan looked worried as he questioned his father. "I got the impression she thought we were just going to have a nap but it obviously didn't work out like that. Did it?"

Jeff shook his head again. "No, it didn't but it's fine. I spoke to your grandmother last night and she knows full well what went on in here. I don't know whether she's up or not yet this morning but it's more than likely that you're going to get something cooked for you just as soon as she is. She's…she's been coping surprisingly well with everything that's happened. She was obviously extremely upset when she first heard about Virgil's…well, about Virgil's accident but she rallied once the initial shock, and Kyrano's special tea, wore off. We've all had our moments of not-coping in the past twenty four hours and I'm sure we've got more of those times to come in the next few days...or weeks but we _will_ get through this if we stick together. I want the pair of you to remember that you can come to me at any time with any troubles or worries or even if you just need a hug. Don't worry if I'm in a meeting, sleeping or whatever, if you want me then come and find me. I'm sure your grandmother would say the same as would John, although he'll be offered the same from myself and Grandma too."

"What time's he getting back?" Gordon asked. "The arrangements all seemed a bit, um, fluid when you were talking me through them yesterday."

Jeff shrugged slightly. "Sometime this evening," he replied. "Penny and Parker will be waiting when he lands and they'll bring him here and then stay with us for a while."

Gordon nodded and looked across at Alan. "I don't know about you but I could sure do with a shower. Come with me to find clothes." He held his hand out to his brother with a beseeching look on his face. Alan looked from Gordon to the bathroom and back again before a look of understanding crossed his eyes and he scrambled backwards out of the bed.

Jeff watched with a hint of a smile as Gordon grabbed Alan's hand and towed him out of the room. The red-head walked into the middle of the double-sized sitting-room and stopped, gazing around him. "Whoa," he exclaimed. "We haven't had it like this for years."

Jeff nodded and followed the pair out of the bedroom. "Kyrano suggested it," he told them. "We both realised that you'd need to stay together so a bigger space seemed to make sense. We obviously couldn't do anything about the bedrooms but if the pair of you are going to insist on sharing a bed then the space issue becomes pretty meaningless anyway."

Gordon shrugged self-consciously and tugged on Alan's hand. "We need to shower before Grandma comes to find us," he murmured. "Go and get your clothes."

Alan lifted the hand which Gordon was still holding and raised his eyebrows. Gordon winced and started to loosen his grip only to shake his head and clasp Alan's hand tighter before finally letting go. "I'm coming with you. Dad, we'll be out in a bit if you want to go and check on Grandma?"

Jeff rolled his eyes. "That's a dismissal if ever I heard one," he replied with a chuckle. "I'll give the pair of you an hour but if I haven't seen you by then I'm coming to check on you. OK?"

Both boys nodded their heads and then headed across Alan's half of the sitting room and into his bedroom. Jeff shook his head and wandered through Gordon's main door into the corridor and then the house beyond.


	13. Chapter 13

~#~ (Chapter 13)

Alan and Gordon emerged from their combined rooms almost fifty minutes later. Both of them were showered, shaved and immaculately dressed but the muted outfits they'd selected showed that both boys were feeling less than happy. Gordon had chosen a pale rust-coloured button down shirt twinned with a pair of chocolate brown slacks and Alan was wearing a long-sleeved, charcoal grey polo shirt and a pair of black jeans.

Jeff watched the pair wander quietly through the house, side by side with barely an inch between them. He shook his head, walked up behind them, hugged them both to him and then pushed them gently into the kitchen.

Ruth was standing at the stove with Kyrano hovering in the background when Jeff, Gordon and Alan walked in. The elderly lady handed Kyrano the pan she'd been tending and stepped out from behind the cooker. She lifted herself up on her tiptoes to give Jeff a peck on the cheek and then wrapped her grandsons in a gentle hug.

"How are you doing, Grandma?" Alan whispered quietly. "Have you been up long?"

Ruth reached up and stroked the side of Alan's face. "I've had better days, dear," she replied. "…but I'm coping. It's all we can do when the Good Lord sends us a trial like this."

Jeff growled quietly, deep in his throat and Ruth cuffed him lightly around the head. "Hush yourself, Jefferson. I know your faith in the Lord died at the same time as poor Lucille but I should point out that _you_ were the one who brought the pastor here. We had a long talk last night and it helped me a lot. It gives me great peace of mind knowing that there's someone, somewhere out there watching over all of us. I won't pretend to understand why He makes some of the decisions that He does but I do believe He must make them for a reason. I know this conflicts with your beliefs, Jeff, and I don't want to argue with you at the moment so I'm not going to mention it again. I do, however, believe that there is a reason for everything and that we will hopefully find out, in due course, what reason there was for those two poor boys passing over yesterday."

Jeff closed his eyes and exhaled loudly. He gripped Alan, who was closest to him, hard on the arm and then shook his head to clear it. "Mother, that's enough," he growled. "Gordon, Alan and I have come to breakfast together. If you're going to keep your ideals to yourself then you can join us. If not, well…"

Ruth cuffed him again but then her expression softened and she cooed softly and ran her hand through the hair on the side of his head. "I said that I wouldn't mention it again and I won't. I was already planning on joining you for breakfast, which will be ready in a moment if only the three of you would just sit down at the table."

Jeff moved around and laid a hand on both Alan and Gordon's shoulders and pressed them into chairs beside one another at the table. He then took the seat opposite to Gordon and left the seat across from Alan free for his mother.

~#~

Breakfast was eaten quietly with most of the conversation coming from either Ruth or Jeff. Both tried unsuccessfully to get the unusually quiet boys to open up to them about how they were feeling but both Gordon and Alan remained particularly tight-lipped and ate little.

Near the end of the meal, Ruth asked the pair how they were planning to spend their day and was dismayed by Gordon's reply of 'We're going to keep out of the way and wait for John'. She shared a look with Jeff who shook his head, telling her not to comment. He already had a counsellor on standby, ready to fly over to speak to the boys if he thought she was needed. He only needed to give her a call and she could be there within a few hours. The main reason he hadn't immediately flown her over was mostly due to John's not being back on the planet but was also partially due to adding to the excessive number of people already on the island that the boys would have to cope with.

"Our…um…" Jeff paused and screwed up his nose as he searched for the right word. "…guests have been asked to remain in the lower levels of the villa. The only people you might come across up here, other than your grandmother and I, are Kyrano, Tin-Tin, Brains and possibly Father Fletcher. Your pool," he stopped and pointed at Gordon. "…will be accessible at all times but again, only to the people I just mentioned. If you use the back stairs then you won't come across anyone other than those people."

Gordon nodded and held his hand out to Alan who took it. "Thanks," he murmured. "I…we appreciate it. I think…I think we'll just pretty much stick to our rooms though, if you don't mind?"

Jeff inclined his head and studied his sons. "Alright," he agreed. "If that's what you want. Kyrano, Grandma and myself will pop in to check on you from time to time though and I would guess that Tin-Tin may appreciate some company at some point."

Gordon nodded again. "Al, have you done?" he asked. "It's time to go."

Alan looked at the remains of his breakfast and shrugged. "I guess so," he said, as Gordon pulled him to his feet. "I…" He didn't bother to finish his comment but grabbed a handful of buttered toast from the plate in front of him and carried it with him as Gordon towed him from the room.

~#~

Ruth watched as her youngest grandson was manhandled through the doorway by his immediately elder brother. "He's worse this morning than he was last night," she commented. "Did you notice how little he just ate? He barely touched his breakfast and the barest mention of the pool had him running for cover."

Jeff stared thoughtfully after the retreating boys. "I know, Mother," he replied. "I just hope I'm doing the right in holding off on the counsellor until after John gets back. I know Gordon seems…clingy and overly attentive of Alan but I think that's only to be expected. Gordon's equivalently lost his protective blanket of Scott and Virgil and is currently the oldest child who must, above all, protect his one remaining sibling from the big, bad outside world. I don't want to pile a load of pressure on John as soon as he gets back but I have a feeling that Gordon is going to stay this hyper-vigilant and anxious until John takes the responsibility of protecting Alan off his shoulders."

Ruth nodded. "They're going to need each other more than ever when the time comes for the funeral," she murmured. "I assume we'll be going home for that? You're not…well, planning on keeping them here?"

Jeff blinked hard and bowed his head. "No," he replied quietly. "Although the thought did cross my mind. Scott and Virgil will be laid to rest in Kansas with Scott in…" Jeff paused and sucked in a shaky breath. "…in between Lucy and Virgil."

He looked up to find Ruth nodding sadly. "I think that's right," she agreed, reaching out and covering one of Jeff's hands with her own. "It turns out that those two were as inseparable in death as they were in life and it's only right that they should spend eternity side by side."

Jeff looked at Ruth's tiny withered hand resting on his own and was suddenly struck by the realisation of how lost he'd be without her. A tear trickled out of the corner of both his eyes and he pulled the startled old woman into a tight hug.

Ruth had seen her son glance at their hands and partially guessed what he'd been thinking. She freed one of her arms from his hug and petted him gently. "Don't you worry, I have no intention of leaving you to go through this alone," she whispered. "No intention at all."

Jeff nodded silently and clung to his mother for several more minutes. He eventually pulled away and wiped his face on a napkin which made Ruth tut at him. He looked slightly abashed but then folded the napkin up and stuck it in his pants pocket. "I have a feeling I may need that again later," he admitted. "I need to go and chase up that shuttle. Do you want me to help you with this lot first?

Ruth shook her head. "No," she replied. "You go and make your calls. I'll get Kyrano to help me with the dishes."

~#~

Jeff made his calls and then wandered through the house towards the bedrooms. Because the two boys had slept in Gordon's bedroom, Jeff automatically headed through the aquanaut's door, even though Alan's door equivalently opened into the same room while the folding wall was open.

Jeff slipped carefully through the doorway and found the large double sitting room empty. He tiptoed across to the bedroom and stuck his head inside, only to find that empty too. He frowned for a moment and padded back across the sitting room and into Alan's bedroom but still found no evidence of where his sons were located.

He stepped back into the corridor and cocked his head to one side to listen. Above the gentle hum of the air conditioning units he could barely make out a quiet murmuring sound and he rotated his head from side to side for a moment to try and ascertain where the noise was coming from. Eventually he set off in search of his two earth-bound children and finally tracked them down to the TV room.

'TV room' was what a very young Alan had christened the huge room at the back of the villa which housed a full-sized cinema screen along with several smaller screens, mainly used for computer gaming. Jeff pushed his way quietly into the room and stopped in the small porch area while his eyes accustomed themselves to the darkness.

Once he could see, Jeff slipped quietly through the inner door and stood silently so as not to disturb the boys who he could see cuddled together on a single recliner chair. They were watching an old home movie of the five boys as youngsters playing hide-and-go-seek in a Kansas cornfield during one of the long, hot, summer breaks from school. From what Jeff could tell the game seemed a little one sided with Scott and Virgil hiding from the two barely-out-of-toddling-stage-youngsters of Gordon and Alan. John had his arm in a cast so was neither hiding, nor seeking but was refereeing the game in a way which was very biased towards the 'seekers'. He kept up constant calls of 'cold', 'hot', 'hotter' and 'scorching' dependant on where the youngsters were in relation to their older brothers and Jeff watched with tears in his eyes as Scott and Virgil let themselves be caught, time and time again.


	14. Chapter 14

~#~ (Chapter 14)

Jeff slipped back out of the room without speaking to Gordon or Alan. He quietly closed the door behind himself and wandered slowly through the house until he found himself staring at the elevator which would lead him downstairs. With a heavy sigh he pressed the button to call the elevator and let it take him downwards towards the sickroom.

~#~

He paused just in front of the island's medical room and rested his head gently against the door. Brains and the three medic-based agents had hinted that he was welcome to enter the room to visit with Scott and Virgil if he wished to but Jeff himself had been unwilling to do so. He found himself wondering why he'd ended up outside the room after leaving Gordon and Alan and stood with his head against the door for several minutes trying to pluck up the courage to either go inside or walk away.

He stepped backwards from the door, wrapped his arms tightly around himself and leaned heavily on the wall further down the corridor. He dearly wanted to say his goodbyes to Scott and Virgil but wasn't sure that he could cope with seeing his two much-loved children in their deceased state.

~#~

Eventually the decision was taken out of his hands when the door to the sickroom swung open and Brains stepped out. The bespectacled man pulled the door closed behind himself and turned to walk away only to find himself badly startled when he realised that he wasn't alone in the corridor.

"M-M-Mr Tracy," he called softly. "Are-are you alright?"

Jeff tightened his self-hug and bit hard into his bottom lip as he shook his head. "No," he whispered. "No, Brains, I'm not."

Brains walked slowly over to Jeff and tentatively rested a hand on his shoulder. "Do-do…did you want to go-go-go inside?" he asked. "Do-do you want me to get Ky-Ky-Kyrano for you?"

Jeff nodded silently and turned his face against the wall. Brains stepped a short distance away and spoke quietly into his watch. He returned to Jeff and hovered beside him with his hand resting on the sleeve of Jeff's shirt. "Ky-Kyrano will be here sh-sh-shortly."

~#~

There was a soft click when Kyrano pushed open the door between the storage room and the corridor. He made quite a sight, wearing a large chequered apron over his traditional pastel blue robes but regardless of how he looked, the gentle Malaysian man strode down the corridor and pulled Jeff away from the wall and into a tight embrace.

Brains moved away as Jeff buried his head in Kyrano's neck and hung, trembling, in his arms. Kyrano rocked him slowly from side to side, petting him and stroking his hair as he spoke softly to him in his native Malay. The soft lilting language had never failed to soothe his friend and this time was no exception. Jeff soon fell still and the quivering against Kyrano's chest slowed until it eventually stopped altogether.

Several minutes after he'd stopped trembling, the Tracy patriarch pulled himself out of Kyrano's arms and looked very apologetic. He sniffed slightly and then fished in his pocket and pulled out the napkin that he had stuffed in there earlier. He wiped his eyes, blew his nose and then chuckled at the scandalised look on Kyrano's face. "It was used at breakfast," he explained. "…and I told Mother I'd probably be needing it again before the end of the day so it made sense to keep it."

Kyrano shrugged and nodded his head towards the sickroom door. "Did you wish to pay a visit to Masters Scott and Virgil?" he asked. "Or was that not the intention of your trip down here?"

Jeff let out a wet snort and blew his nose again before answering. "I'm not entirely sure on my intentions," he admitted. "In fact I'm not sure that I had any. The boys, Gordon and Alan, are in the TV room. They're comforting each other so I left them to it. I've already upset both myself and Mother this morning and I didn't want to do that again so I guess I automatically walked the opposite way and ended up here. I've…I've been standing out here for a while, trying to decide whether I want to go in or not but…but…" A furrow appeared across Jeff's forehead and he shrugged. "I just don't know."

"Would it help if I accompanied you?" Kyrano asked softly. "Master Brains, would it be acceptable for Mr Tracy to enter the room at this time?"

Brains nodded. "I-I-I believe so," he replied. "If you bear-bear with me I'll just…I'll just…I'll check."

Kyrano pulled the apron over his head and walked back down the corridor, leant through the door to the storeroom and put it on a shelf. He paced gently back to where Jeff was standing and then turned around and waited for Brains to reappear.

~#~

"S-Scott is ready for you, Mr T-Tracy," Brains said softly when he stepped back out of the sickroom. "V-Virgil is a li-little more complicated. We-we've been mainly c-c-concentrating on S-Scott for obvious re-re-reasons so V-V-Virgil is not quite r-ready."

Jeff nodded and followed Brains as he quietly stepped back through the door.

~#~

Scott was lying in the centre of the heavily air-conditioned room on one of the hospital-type beds. His head was resting on a soft pillow and a sheet had been pulled up to his bare shoulders.

Jeff tentatively stepped towards the bed but ground to a halt several feet before he reached it. Kyrano stopped beside him and gently rested his hand on the small of Jeff's back. "Take your time, Mr Tracy. There is no need to hurry."

Jeff nodded and sucked in a deep breath. The frigid air from the sickroom hit his lungs and he coughed quietly several times before he, this time more carefully, took his next breath. He stepped slightly nearer to Scott and then stopped again and looked around the room. "Where is everybody?" he asked quietly. "…and where's…where's…"

Brains moved to stand beside Scott's head and reached down to gently stroke his hair. "V-Virgil's in the s-s-surgical suite," he replied quietly. "As-as-as are our…um…g-guests. They…they're making Virgil pre-pre-presentable so that you can s-see him. He…he may not be com-com-completely ready b-but it will sa-save you from having to go-go-go through this twice."

Jeff nodded again and took another step forwards. He paused then took another, slower, step and then one more until he was level with the bed. Brains stepped backwards so Jeff could have some quiet time with his son but when Kyrano tried to pull back as well, Jeff baulked and made a grab for his arm. "No," he croaked. "Stay. I…I need you to get me through this."

Kyrano inclined his head slightly and remained in place beside his friend. Jeff shuffled forwards until he was standing beside Scott's head and then crouched down until his face was level with his son's. "Scotty," he whispered. "Scotty, I'm so sorry you had to leave us. I know you loved us all but I guess that you just couldn't face the idea of life without Virgil. The two of you always did have a near-symbiotic relationship, right from the moment he was born…" Jeff paused and bowed his head as tears flowed freely from his eyes. "I…I guess we should have known that if we lost one of you then we'd probably lose the other but I…I…it shouldn't have happened."

Jeff reached out and stroked his fingertips against Scott's pale forehead in the gentlest of feather-light caresses. "You should have stayed," he croaked. "Scotty. You should have stayed."

Jeff's lip wobbled as he pulled his hand away from the cold, lifeless body that used to be his first-born son. He dropped backwards until he was sitting on the floor and soon found himself wrapped in Kyrano's arms as he gasped for breath. "I…I…I don't know what to do," he cried. "How…how can we go on without them? Sc-sc-Scott…Virgil…how, Kyrano? How?"

Kyrano found himself rocking Jeff gently from side to side, just as he had in the corridor not too many minutes before. "You will endure, Mr Tracy," he said softly. "Just as you did before, you will endure. You will remain strong and with the help of Masters John, Gordon and Alan you will come through this complete, whole and unbroken."

Jeff sniffed wetly against his shoulder and coughed a little. "Before?" he croaked. "You know as well as I do that I barely survived Lucy's passing. If it hadn't been for the boys then I probably wouldn't have done…and now…now I've lost two of them as well." Jeff let out a ragged sob that turned into a full blown, wrenching cough which left him breathless.

Kyrano rubbed his back vigorously and then pushed him upright. "You will survive this, Mr Tracy," he said sternly. "Just as you did before. It is an awful and distressing thing that only three of your boys remain but those three are going to need you now, more than ever before. Master Gordon has been through much in the last few days and seemed on the point of breaking this morning. Master Alan is confused and unsure of everything that is going on and Master John has been isolated on Thunderbird 5 where he has been unable to give or receive comfort to, or from, anyone. The three of them are going to need your help, your love and your support to get them through this. In turn they will give you the help, love and support that you need to do the same."

Jeff nodded and dropped his chin against his chest. "I know," he whispered. "…but it's…it's…" Jeff gave up trying to find the words and shrugged helplessly.

Kyrano nodded sympathetically and smiled as Brains appeared with a chair. He helped Jeff get off the floor and pressed him into the chair before gently rubbing his shoulder. "You need to make your peace with Master Scott, Mr Tracy," he advised quietly. "Do not leave the last words spoken to him be those of anger and upset. Make your peace with him before Master Virgil is brought in."

Jeff wiped his cheeks with the base of both hands and then let out a short barking laugh when Kyrano pulled a handkerchief from somewhere within his robes and handed it to him. "Thank you again, my friend. If nothing else it will save the tableware."

Kyrano smiled and dipped his head in reply before stepping back just slightly to let Jeff's quiet words to Scott remain his own.


	15. Chapter 15

~#~ (Chapter 15)

After a short while there was a quiet knock on the door between the surgical suite and the sickroom. Jeff stopped his quiet one-sided conversation with Scott and watched as Brains crossed the room, slid the door open and spoke to the person on the other side.

Brains nodded and then paced slowly back towards Jeff and Kyrano, who moved to stand close behind his friend. "They-they-they're ready to bring V-Virgil through, M-M-Mr Tracy. His…ah…injuries mean that he-he…ah…can't be mo-moved as easily and that he-he-he'll be more heavily cov-covered than S-Scott."

Jeff frowned slightly and then nodded. He had been given a brief rundown on Virgil's injuries and correctly understood Brains' words to mean that he was possibly still partially wrapped inside the body bag that he'd been brought home in. "I understand," he replied quietly. "Tell them they can bring him in now."

~#~

The door swished open and Agent 19, a small, mousy-haired man wearing green scrubs, stepped through. He pulled Virgil's bed slowly behind him and this was followed by Agents 23 and 12.

Both were wearing identical surgical scrubs to Agent 19 and Agent 23 looked over and acknowledged Jeff with a slow nod. Her vivid red hair was tied in a bun at the back of her head and Jeff realised it was covered in a fine gauze to prevent any stray hairs ending up where they weren't wanted. He nodded back at her and then moved his gaze onto Virgil's face as his son's bed got nearer.

~#~

Jeff gasped as Virgil's bed rolled to a halt beside him. Whereas he could have almost fooled himself into thinking that Scott was sleeping, the same could in no-way be said for Virgil. The artist had barely a scrap of colour in his face other than the ghastly blue tinge which covered his lips and his ears. Like his brother, Virgil was lying on a hospital-type bed but unlike Scott, Virgil was both lying on, and covered by, thick, royal blue blankets. His head was resting on a pillow and his chestnut-brown hair showed signs of being spot-washed with several patches of it lying at strange angles where they were still slightly damp.

Jeff raised himself slowly from the chair, stood beside Virgil's bed and then reached out and gently began trying to stroke the out-of-place hair back into order. Brains saw what he was doing and hurried over to a cupboard in the far corner of the room. He pulled out a soft hairbrush, which Jeff recognised as one of Tin-Tin's, and scurried back over to give it to him.

Brains nodded to Kyrano and followed the three medics as they slipped quietly from the room. He closed the door quietly behind himself and very suddenly Jeff and Kyrano were alone again in the cold, dry atmosphere of the sickroom.

~#~

Jeff continued to fuss with Virgil's hair for several minutes and then sat back on the chair and murmured quietly to him as he had done with Scott. He apologised profusely to his son for putting him in the position to be injured in such a way and quietly promised him that neither John, Gordon nor Alan would be put in such a position in the future.

Jeff eventually fell into a time of quiet contemplation on the chair between his two deceased sons. He sat peacefully for a while with his eyes closed until his watch sprang to life, startling both himself and Kyrano.

"Dad?" Alan's voice sounded unnaturally loud in the quiet room. "Dad, are you there?"

Jeff opened his eyes and carefully angled his watch in such a way that Alan wouldn't be able to see where he was, he then pressed the button which would connect him to his youngest son. "Alan," he replied. "Are you alright?"

Alan nodded. "I'm OK, Dad. I'm worried about Gordy though. He's fallen asleep on me; and by that I mean literally _on_ me. Look." Alan rotated his arm until Jeff could see Gordon's sleeping face plastered against his chest. "I don't get it. We haven't been up for more than a couple of hours and he hasn't done anything to make him tired; he hasn't even been for a swim this morning."

Jeff closed his eyes for a moment and breathed deeply. "It's his body's way of protecting him from everything that's going on. If Gordon's asleep and he's peaceful then he's not thinking about what happened yesterday. It's the sort of rest that he wasn't able to achieve on his own last night so while he's quiet you're best off letting him be. What about you? How are you coping, Alan?"

Alan shrugged. "I don't really know," he admitted. "I guess I'm OK. I…Dad, I know you're all trying to shelter me from what's going on and I…well, I appreciate that but I don't think it's helping me understand…um…things. I don't understand why Kyrano couldn't just wake Gordy up last night, I don't see how the Firefly's window could get smashed like that and I don't get how…" Alan paused and looked down to check that Gordon was still soundly asleep and then continued in a more hushed voice. "…I don't get how Scott could just up and…er…die. Did he get hurt and nobody told me or what?"

"He didn't get hurt," Jeff whispered. "…at least not as far as I'm aware. I…no-one's told me anything for definite but I've…" Jeff stopped and rubbed his neck. "I've spent time with both of them this morning and Scott looked…well…he looked intact."

Alan closed his eyes and shuddered. "Gordon said that one of his eyes wasn't right. What could that mean? That something went wrong with…in his head?"

"Maybe," Jeff agreed. "Maybe but until I'm told otherwise I'm not going to speculate. It's distressing enough without trying to second guess what Brains and the others are going to find."

Alan nodded sadly. "Are…are they going to take Scott and Virgil away? I mean are…are we going to get the chance to say goodbye? Properly, I mean?"

Jeff watched as Alan's eyes pooled with tears. "Do you mean that you want to say goodbye in person?" he asked and was unsurprised when Alan shrugged. "Alan, son, that's a decision that only you can make and if you choose to then I'm not going to try and stop you. As your father though I'm duty-bound to try and protect you and say 'remember them as they were, not how they are now'. If you see them like they are then you'll remember them like that for the rest of your life. Yes, I know that you'll have all your other memories of them as well but that last, crucial memory will always be with you; lurking in the background and waiting to pounce at the most inopportune moment."

"You…you said you went to see them," Alan squeaked, his voice breaking slightly by the upset he was feeling. "How…how does that work?"

Jeff shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted. "I didn't plan on coming down here. I just sort of…" he stopped, shrugged and then stared at the ceiling. "…ended up here."

Alan opened his mouth to reply and then closed it with a snap. "You…um…you're…er…you're still in there?" he asked, recoiling back into the chair slightly. "With them? You're still in there with them now?"

Mindful of where he was pointing his watch, Jeff looked from side to side, first at Scott, then at Virgil and then back down at Alan. "I am," he whispered. "…but I think it's probably about time for me to say my goodbyes and let the medics back in. Scott and Virgil will be here until John gets back but they'll have to leave shortly afterwards. There are certain…things that need doing…preparations…things that can't be done here."

Alan shuddered again. "Can…can you come and sit with me?" he whispered. "I don't want to sound needy or whiny or…whatever but I don't really want to be on my own. I know I'm not but I may as well be for how much of a conversationalist Gordy's being at the moment."

"Give me a couple of minutes," Jeff replied softly. "Let me just finish up in here then I'll come up and sit with you. Will you be alright for a couple of minutes? If not then I'll pull Tin-Tin off the desk but I'd rather not, she's keeping her ear out for news about John."

Alan nodded. "I'll be OK," he murmured. "Leave Tin where she is. The sooner we know that John's on his way, the better."

Jeff smiled sadly. "Amen to that."


	16. Chapter 16

~#~ (Chapter 16)

Tin-Tin finally heard from Parker at just after 5pm when he radioed through to say that he and Penny had left the Vandenberg Air Force Base with a quiet and clearly distraught John. Penelope, Parker reported, had tried to engage John in conversation but had eventually given up and left the now-eldest Tracy boy to his contemplations, staring silently out of the window of the candy-pink jet.

Tin-Tin signed off from Parker and went in search of Jeff. She eventually found him, along with Ruth and the two boys, in Alan and Gordon's combined sitting room. Both boys' book-laden coffee tables had been dragged into the centre of the room and a pair of sofas, which the four Tracys were sitting on, had been pulled up to the newly-created double-sized table. Tin-Tin stepped quietly into the room and cleared her throat.

The four people on the sofas stopped what they were doing and looked up. Ruth smiled fondly as Alan leant back and held a hand out, beckoning Tin-Tin over to him. The young girl stepped hesitantly towards the sofas and then yelped when she found herself being pulled off her feet and into Alan's lap.

Alan gave her a gentle squeeze and allowed her to slip off his lap and into the too-small gap between himself and Gordon. Gordon shuffled up the sofa slightly to give her some more space and smiled softly. "I can't believe you fell for that again," he murmured. "You really never learn, do you?"

Tin-Tin smiled and wrapped her arms around him. "Just because I fall for it, doesn't mean I'm not expecting it," she whispered. "There'd be no fun in it otherwise."

Gordon grinned. He leant down, placed a chaste kiss on Tin-Tin's cheek and then made an exaggerated point of extracting himself from her arms. "I know it's hard keeping your hands off a buff body like this," he said in a loud stage whisper. "But you're making Alan jealous. Look."

Alan looked anything but jealous as he watched Gordon act something like himself for the first time that day. He shook his head at his brother's antics and reached down to pick a glass of juice up from the floor by his feet. He saluted Tin-Tin and Gordon with the glass, drained it and then flopped back on the sofa with a deep sigh.

Tin-Tin snuggled down beside him and then blushed when she realised that Jeff and Ruth were watching the youngsters' antics from the other sofa. "Oh," she exclaimed. "Mr Tracy, Mrs Tracy, I…I…"

"You came to tell us that Penny's on her way with John?" Jeff guessed and then smiled when Tin-Tin nodded. "I thought it was about time we heard something. Did Penny say anything…about John or…well, is there anything that we need to know?"

Tin-Tin shook her head. "No, Mr Tracy. It was Parker who radioed in; I didn't actually speak to Penelope. It sounds like the pick-up went OK but John isn't really talking so I think Parker only knew that from talking to Colonel's Benson and Harris."

Jeff looked skywards for a moment before closing his eyes and sighing. "I guess I should have expected that," he groaned. "It was hard enough to get him speaking before…when…after…" Jeff stopped and shook himself. "Just as long as he hasn't shut down completely."

Ruth gripped Jeff's right arm and reached up to rub the area between her son's shoulder blades. "We'll get him back," she murmured. "Just like we did before. Tin-Tin, dear, what time will they be arriving?"

Tin-Tin took a quick look at her watch. "They'll be here in about an hour and a half," she replied. "Do you want me to man the radio until they arrive, Mr Tracy?"

Jeff looked across the table to where Tin-Tin, Alan and Gordon were sitting. "No," he murmured. "If Penny needs us in any great hurry then she'll find a way of contacting us. No-one else should call in but if they do then they'll have to wait. Would you like to join us in here for a while? We're…" He paused and looked at Ruth. "We're reminiscing."

Tin-Tin's eyes softened as she looked down and realised that the books covering the coffee table were the seldom-seen Tracy family photograph albums. "Oh, Mr Tracy," she whispered. "Are…are you sure?"

Jeff nodded. "We've been sitting in here looking through the pictures and talking about when they were taken. I know…I know why I hid them away in the first place but I'm coming to the realisation that maybe I was wrong. Going through them, it's been somewhat…um…cathartic. I…um…oh, did you _really_ have to start with that one?"

Alan grinned mischievously as he pulled Jeff and Lucy's wedding album off the table and slid it onto Tin-Tin's knee. "I like it," he said quietly. "…and I know that Tin will too."

Tin-Tin stroked one finger reverently across the soft ivory-coloured cover of the book and gently pulled it open. "Oh," she gasped when her eyes fell on the first page. "Mr Tracy, you looked just like Virgil."

Ruth patted Jeff's arm and smiled across at the young girl. "Didn't he just? Handsome boys, the pair of them and just like my Grant."

Tin-Tin turned the next page to find a picture of Jeff and Lucille with Ruth, Grant and a proud but frail-looking lady. Tin-Tin traced Lucy's delicate features with her finger and smiled sadly. "John looks a lot like his mother," she whispered. "Although I can see Alan in her as well." Tin-Tin tapped gently on the older lady. "Is this Mrs Tracy's mother?" she asked. "She's…well she looks a lot older than you were then, Mrs Tracy."

"She was," Jeff replied quietly. "She was also in the last stages of a very, very long battle against breast cancer. We thought she was doing OK but one morning, about six weeks after the wedding, she simply refused to get up. When Lucy asked her why she claimed that it was time for her to be reunited with 'her Albert' and that she'd only hung around long enough to watch her little girl become happily married. She passed away that morning without ever knowing that her first grandchild was on his way."

"Scott," Tin-Tin whispered softly. "That's…awful. Did you ever meet her husband? Her Albert?"

Jeff shook his head. "No," he murmured. "He was long gone by the time I came on the scene. He died in an industrial accident when Lucy was still in school." Jeff lifted several of the larger books up from the table until he uncovered a small, battered leather-bound album. He opened it and thumbed through the pages before handing it, still open, to Tin-Tin. "That's Albert and Alice on their wedding day. You might be able to pick out another family resemblance there too."

Alan pulled the book gently onto his knee and studied the picture with Tin-Tin. "He's got Scott's eyes," he said. "…and the same little worry line on his forehead."

"They've got the same chin too," Tin-Tin added. "Or is it the jawline? I'm not sure."

Alan shrugged and passed the book down for Gordon to look at. Gordon smiled sadly at the picture and then quietly leafed through the rest of the book. "Can we keep some of these out," he murmured. "Would you mind, Dad? Maybe if we copy some of them? I think…I think they've been secreted away too long. There's things here that _I've_ never seen, let alone Alan and I think it's about time we…um...got to know some of these people."

Jeff nodded. "I was thinking the same thing," he murmured. "I think they've stayed hidden for long enough. If you want to copy some of them then feel free. Maybe we can find somewhere in the TV room for the albums themselves to live."

Tin-Tin watched as Alan, Gordon and Ruth nodded their agreement. She carefully looked through the rest of Jeff and Lucy's photo album and then reached out and put it gently on the table. Alan pointed to another book which she picked up and carried over to him. "Oh," she squeaked when she opened the book. "Oh my."

Gordon looked over her shoulder and grinned. "Are you sure you want Tin-Tin looking through that one?" he asked with a chuckle. "Most people don't want their girlfriends looking through their baby pictures."

Alan wrapped his arm around Tin-Tin's waist and hitched his knees into a slightly more upright position so that the book was easier to see. "I'm fine with it," he said. "I wasn't a little chunk like you so I have nothing to be embarrassed about."

Gordon nodded and raised his eyebrows as Tin-Tin turned over the page. She gave a particularly girly giggle and Alan squealed as he realised that she'd come across a full frontal, nude picture of a tiny blonde baby in a bathtub. The baby was sitting on the knee of an equally naked, dark-haired boy with vivid blue eyes. Scott had raised baby-Alan's arm as if he was waving at the camera and both boys had beaming grins on their faces.

"That is just adorable," Tin-Tin whispered. "Oh, Mrs Tracy, you must come and look."

Jeff helped Ruth to her feet and watched as she stepped carefully around the table. She flicked at Gordon with the back of her hand until he moved out of the way and then dropped herself gently into the space between Tin-Tin and the aquanaut. "Oh yes," she replied, once she had settled. "Oh, I remember that alright. The only way to get that baby in the tub without one heck of a screaming fit was to drop him in with his big brother. None of the others would do, mind, it had to be Scott. If anyone tried to put him in there with John, Virgil or, God forbid, Gordon, then it'd be war until bedtime. Scott just had a…well, he had a way with the babies, each and every one of them and I honestly don't think he ever lost that. Did he?"

Gordon and Alan shook their heads as Tin-Tin turned to the next page of the photo album. Ruth glanced at the photo that had been uncovered and immediately started telling Tin-Tin all about the trip to the zoo when it had been taken. Jeff clambered to his feet and moved to perch on the arm of the sofa beside Gordon. He wrapped an arm around his son and rested his chin on Gordon's head as he lost himself in the memories. Gordon was happy to snuggle against his father and sunk in to his embrace as he listened to his grandmother happily recollecting sections of his childhood.


	17. Chapter 17

~#~ (Chapter 17)

Time seemed to disappear for the five as they sat in the combined sitting room. Kyrano appeared at one point with coffee and biscuits but other than that one interruption they were left in peace.

The peace was finally shattered by Alan, Jeff and Gordon's watches letting out an ear-piercing squeal. Everyone in the room jumped and looked at Jeff who pressed several buttons on his watch and then smiled softly when John's slightly-flustered face came into view. "Hello, son," he said quietly. "I told Tin-Tin that Penelope would find a way of getting in touch with us if no one answered Parker's hails. I don't know exactly what she'd have done but I'd hazard a guess it would have been decidedly more subtle than whatever you just did. What did you just do, anyway? I've never heard any of the watches create feedback like that before."

John smirked and held a screwdriver up to the screen. "We've been circling the island for almost twenty minutes," he replied. "I was almost ready to tell Parker to land without clearance but I thought I'd try one last time to get hold of someone down there. I suppose I could have just called but…well…" John shrugged and tapped the screen with the screwdriver. "Can we come down now?"

Jeff nodded. "There shouldn't be anything else moving out there. We're not expecting anyone apart from yourselves so if it's all quiet then come on down. Tell Parker to watch out in the hangar though, it's…well, it's crowded. We'll meet you there."

John nodded. "I guess I'd better help Parker with the parking then," he said softly. "I'll see you soon, Dad. Can you…can you bring the others down with you. I…I kind of need to see for myself that they're OK."

"We'll all be there," he replied, equally as softly. "Alan, Gordon, Grandma and myself. Tin-Tin too, if she wants to be?" Jeff looked down at Tin-Tin who nodded silently. "Tin-Tin too. John, we'll all be there. Just get yourself, Penny and Parker down here safely, OK? We'll see you in the hangar shortly…and don't forget to watch out for parked aircraft."

"I won't and I'll see you soon." John nodded again and hesitated before cutting the connection. "I love you."

Jeff was left staring at a blank screen for a moment before he looked up and met Ruth's gaze with tears in his eyes. "He…he…" A ridge formed on Jeff's brow as he struggled with his emotions. "He's talking. Everyone downstairs now and beware of possible visitors en route. I know I said you wouldn't come across any of them up here but we're obviously breaching the 'up here' to go 'down there' so that may not apply." Jeff shook his head. "I know, I know, I'm spouting nonsense. Everyone up and downstairs. Now."

~#~

Jeff, Ruth, Alan, Gordon and Tin-Tin stepped out onto the viewing platform at the exact same moment that Penelope's bright pink jet started to taxi through the doors of the hangar. Jeff stood at the front of the platform with Alan under one arm and Gordon under the other. Ruth smiled softly at the three and linked arms with Tin-Tin as she watched the plane roll slowly into place beside the assembled vehicles already inside.

"They're in," Jeff murmured. "Come on; let's go get your brother."

~#~

Jeff, Alan and Gordon picked their way down the steps onto the hard concrete floor of the hangar. They wandered towards the gently hissing candy-pink jet and stopped just short of where they knew the plane's steps would end up.

A couple of seconds later there was a click, followed by a gentle whooshing sound. The plane door swung open and the steps descended, stopping just a few inches from the trio of Tracys' feet. Jeff looked down and smiled slightly before pulling both Alan and Gordon tighter in against his sides.

John appeared at the top of the steps, looked at the position of his father and brothers and nodded before starting down towards them. He got about half way down and then paused and looked around the hangar. After a moment he blinked, swallowed hard and then, worryingly, swayed slightly. Jeff flinched and took a step forward until John held a finger out to stop him.

Jeff remained in place and watched as John took a couple of hesitant steps towards him and then he found himself smiling sadly when both Alan and Gordon pulled away and threw themselves at their brother.

~#~

John's knees buckled as he was hit by the twin missiles of Gordon and Alan. Both boys wrapped their arms around him and the three sunk to the floor, just a couple of steps up from the concrete.

Jeff let out a sigh and clambered over Gordon's legs so he could sit on the next step up behind the boys. He rested his leg gently against John's shoulder, silently lending his support without crowding his sons. Penelope appeared at the door for a second, looked down the steps and then promptly disappeared back inside. "Parker," she murmured. "It seems we may be staying in here for a while."

~#~

Eventually Jeff left the boys to their group hug and clambered up the steps and into the plane. "Hello Penny," he said fondly as the aristocrat reached up to hug him. "It seems that the boys have blocked your escape from the plane. I'd rather not disturb them so I hope you don't mind staying here for another couple of minutes."

Penelope shook her head as she sat back down. "Of course not," she replied, motioning Jeff into the seat opposite her. "John needs time to reconnect with his brothers, he's been…" Penny paused as the ghost of a frown appeared on her forehead. "He shut down on us completely during the early part of the journey. Literally, Jeff, he was sitting there, hugging his bag and silently staring out of the window. I honestly don't think he noticed the first two thirds of the journey go by and he only really started to come back to us when began our approach to the island."

Parker joined them and handed Penelope a cup of tea which he'd brewed in the small kitchenette area further down the plane. "Mr Tracy, sir," he said. "Could I h'offer you h'a cup of M'lady's finest h'Earl grey? H'or maybe something h'a little stronger?"

Jeff smiled and shook his head. "Tea will do fine, thank you Parker. I need my wits about me at the moment so the 'something stronger' will have to wait for another time."

Penelope watched quietly as Parker wandered away down the plane to organise Jeff's drink. "How are things here, Jeff? Really, I mean. How are you coping? The boys? Grandma?"

Jeff shook his head. "Mother…well, Mother's amazing," he said quietly. "She reacted extremely badly when she initially heard about Virgil, to the point where Kyrano had to give her something to make her sleep. She wasn't around when Scott…" Jeff shrugged. "I had to tell her about him when she woke up. She was…I don't know, 'shocked' doesn't sound like a strong enough word but you get the idea. I thought she might break down again but I think she may have sensed how close I was to doing just that and she rallied. She took herself to the kitchen and she…well…she baked."

Penelope nodded and held her hand out to take Jeff's teacup from Parker who had appeared beside her while the Tracy patriarch had been speaking. "Thank you, Parker. That will be all."

Parker tilted his head towards her and then disappeared again as Penny handed Jeff the cup and saucer. "And the boys?" she prompted. "How are they getting along?"

Jeff peered into his drink and sighed. "Honestly?" he replied. "Neither of them are doing that great. We've tried to shield Alan from the worst of what's happened but it's left him dazed, confused and questioning. He's doing his best to support Gordon but being the youngest, it doesn't come naturally to him and he's been left feeling somewhat alone and insecure. There isn't really anyone apart from myself that he can talk to about everything that's happening and I've done my best but I'm getting the distinct impression that he's holding back a lot of his thoughts and emotions in case he upsets me."

Penny nodded and nudged Jeff's cup, encouraging him to take a sip and then watched, worriedly, when she noticed that his hands were trembling slightly. After he'd taken several sips she took the cup and saucer and put them on the seat beside him before gently taking both his hands in hers.

"I think it's fair to assume, from what you've said, that Gordon's not doing too well?" she asked. "You said that Alan's been doing his best to support him?"

Jeff nodded again and sighed. "Even with John missing, Alan's still had the buffer of Gordon above him. Gordon hasn't had that luxury. Without John, Gordon's had to assume the mantle of Alan's big brother, protector, surrogate parent and carer, all wrapped into one. You know as well as I do that Gordon doesn't do command well. It's the main reason he left WASP, because they were continually trying to promote him to a higher position with more responsibility. Yesterday, as well as discovering that Scott had passed away, Gordon had to liaise with the local fire-fighters, something that is normally Scott's job. He had to arrange for a group of virtual strangers to remove his deceased brothers from the Firefly and he had to supervise them while they did it. Once they were done, Gordon then had to fly his brothers, one alive and two dead, home in Thunderbird 2 which is usually Virgil's job and not something that Gordon has ever done alone before."

Jeff realised that he was shaking badly now and he clung to Penelope's hands in an attempt to ground himself. "Brains…Brains had to sedate him last night," he whispered brokenly. "Gordon, Penny. Brains had to sedate him. We had…we had to sit with him and watch him and…and…"

Penelope untangled one of her hands from Jeff's and reached up to cup the back of his head. She gently pulled him forwards until his forehead was resting on her shoulder and then reached down to rub his back. "It's alright, she whispered. "Just let go. You don't need to worry, PARKER will guard the door." Penelope spoke her butler's name particularly loudly, knowing that he would immediately come running.

Parker didn't enter the room but skidded to a halt in the doorway and looked towards Penny for direction. She raised her eyes to the doorframe, nodded towards the corridor behind the butler and then tilted her head in the direction of the window. Parker paused for a moment, looked behind himself and then nodded and turned back to close the door. He paced across the plane, cautiously checked that the boys were still in a heap on the steps and then sat on the floor, just out of sight, to keep an eye on them.


	18. Chapter 18

~#~ (Chapter 18)

Penelope buried one of her hands in the short, soft hair at the nape of Jeff's neck and began to gently massage the skin there with her neatly manicured fingernails. "Let it go, Jeff. Parker's got the boys and you're perfectly safe in here. No-one can see you."

Jeff shook his head. "Can't keep doing this," he mumbled against her shoulder. "Done…done too much of it today. The boys will see."

Penelope dug her fingers deeply into his hair and pulled gently. "So what if they do," she whispered. "You're justifiably upset and there's absolutely no problem with showing it. You're only human, Jeff. You're not Superman. You feel emotions, you feel pain and you cry. It's not a bad thing and you, me and everyone else knows that bottling it up will only make the problem worse in the long run."

Jeff shook his head again but Penelope knew she was on the verge of winning when she felt his arms slip tentatively around her waist. "I've got a whole house to cry in," Jeff complained croakily. "It's stupid hiding out in someone else's plane. We should just go inside."

Penelope tugged at his hair again. "You are inside," she replied. "The whole plane is inside, if you haven't noticed and you can't leave to go anywhere else because your sons have taken up residence on my steps. I'm sure they're getting a fair amount of crying done out there while you're doing your best to avoid the issue in here. They're out there, sitting on cold, unpadded steps in a draughty aircraft hangar whereas you're in here in relative comfort. Let it go, Jeff and stop making excuses. Parker's got the boys and I've got you. Let. It. Go."

~#~

Eventually the boys started to become uncomfortable on the steps and clambered to their feet. John was still slightly wobbly, having had very little sleep the night before and then being subjected to re-entry, a plane flight and an emotional overload. Gordon tucked himself under one arm, Alan tucked himself under the other and the three boys then stood and looked around for their father.

"Mr Tracy is h'in with 'er ladyship," Parker announced as he appeared at the door of the plane. "'e was more that h'a little h'upset. Do you wish me to go h'and get 'im for you?"

John looked at the others who shrugged. "I think Dad's probably where he needs to be," he replied. "Penelope will listen to him without judging him or smothering him like Grandma would. Leave him be, Parker but when you see him could you please tell him we've gone up to the house. Tell him…tell him we'll be in the kitchen for a while and then…" He stopped and looked at his brothers again. "Where have you guys been hanging out?" Alan answered for both of them and John frowned slightly at his reply and then looked back at Parker. "If we're not in the kitchen we'll be in one of these two's rooms. OK?"

Parker nodded. "H'I shall dutifully pass the message h'on for you," he replied. "Just h'as soon h'as Mr Tracy puts h'in an h'appearance."

John smiled gently and inclined his head to dismiss the butler back to his other duties. Parker stayed exactly where he was and raised his eyebrows in what could almost have been thought of as a challenge to John, had the space monitor not known him so well.

John rolled his eyes and turned slowly around, pulling both Gordon and Alan around with him. The three struggled their way down the steps, which weren't even vaguely big enough for three fully-grown men to walk down side-by-side and then wandered slowly across the hangar towards the elevator which would take them up into the house.

~#~

After telling his grandmother that he'd eaten virtually nothing that day and admitting to throwing up his dinner the night before, John found himself supplied with a vast array of different foods including some of Ruth's most well-loved family favourites. He ate well, as did Alan, even though the youngest was watching the still-too-quiet Gordon the entire time.

When Gordon slipped away to use the bathroom, John turned to his youngest brother. "I know you're worried but you've got to ease up on him," he hissed. "If you scrutinise everything that goes into his mouth then there's a chance he'll just give up eating altogether. Watch him, by all means, just do it less…well, less obviously."

Alan peered down at Gordon's plate and then shrugged. "He's done OK…I guess. It's just…it's not normal to see him leaving food. He and Scott…" Alan paused and snapped his mouth shut with an audible click. He opened his mouth, closed it and then opened it again before finally finding his voice. "Er…he…they…they'd always eat far more than anyone else. Both of them would." Alan stopped again and shrugged helplessly. "Do you get what I'm trying to say?"

John nodded and leant over to pat Alan's arm. "I do," he replied. "But you've got to remember that Gordon can only eat all that because he burns most of it off again in the pool. It's the same as Scott and his running…well, partially anyway. Scott's metabolism was always a little on the fast side, the stress he was constantly under made sure of that." John stopped and shook himself. "Anyway, what _I'm_ trying to say is that Gordon isn't in the pool, is he? In fact I'd bet that he hasn't so much as dipped a toe in the thing since you got back."

Alan shook his head. "No," he whispered. "He didn't seem to even think about it this morning. He got up with me, we showered, shaved, dressed and then we were supposed to be eating breakfast but he didn't…well, not really."

John nodded again. "That's what I mean," he replied. "It's not normal for Gordon to not want to use the pool but it's logical to think that if he's not swimming off hundreds and hundreds of calories then he doesn't need to eat them. Are _you_ following _me_?"

"But Dad and Grandma were worried too," Alan argued. "I saw them…I saw them watching him at breakfast and Dad…Dad spent the whole of lunch trying to persuade him to eat."

John shook his head. "I'm sure he did," he said softly. "…but I doubt he's thought it through properly. He's upset; far more than he's probably been letting on to the pair of you. Dad's not running on a hundred percent and he's trying to hide it. I'd bet that all he could see was that Gordon wasn't eating and that the logical part of his brain couldn't get past that to think of reasons why it might not be a problem. It would have also given him something to work towards. 'Get Gordon eating, keep Gordon safe and healthy,' that sort of thing. Do you understand?"

Alan nodded. "He's not using the calories so he doesn't need to fill himself with them and Dad can't see that. As long as Gordy eats _something_ then he should be alright?"

John nodded. "He'll eat when he's hungry. It might turn out to be a completely illogical moment in the middle of the night but he _will_ get hungry and he _will_ eat. Watch it, he's coming."

Gordon hurried back into the room and slid back under John's shoulder. John hugged him tightly and then held his other arm out to Alan. "Are we about done in here?" he asked. "We could take a plate of bits through with us, if you want."

Alan nodded and stood up so he could pile a random selection of items onto one of the large serving dishes. He laid a sheet of plastic-wrap over the top once he'd finished and smoothed the edges down over the side of the plate to keep the food fresh. "Sorted," he announced. "Plenty here for Dad if he goes straight to our room without checking the kitchen first."

John nodded approvingly and clambered to his feet, gently pulling Gordon up behind him. "Come on then," he said softly. "Let's go see this room of yours. Alan, don't forget the plate."


	19. Chapter 19

~#~ (Chapter 19)

John sat himself in the centre of the sofa in the younger boys' combined sitting room and Alan and Gordon curled up on either side of him. Jeff joined them several minutes later and finally managed to greet John properly for the first time since he'd landed.

He leant over the back of the sofa and wrapped his arms around John's shoulders and neck. John untangled his arms from his brothers and, rather uncomfortably, turned to return the hug. "Hi Dad," he murmured. "How are you holding up?"

Jeff hugged John tighter. "It varies," he admitted quietly. "I'm perfectly fine one moment and then...well, then I'm not. Kyrano's been keeping an eye on me; shadowing me, if you will. He's been…he's been a great help and I'm not sure how well I would have coped without him."

John nodded and rubbed his head gently against his father's. "He was in the kitchen when we were eating," he murmured. "He was worried when we went in without you but relaxed when we explained that you were with Penelope. Um…Dad, I don't know if she said anything but I'd imagine I came across as a little…um…rude for most of the journey back. I should probably apologise to both her and Parker."

"Penny's fine," Jeff replied quietly. "…and both she and Parker understand. They were more worried about 'you' than they were about 'you being rude'. Penny mentioned to Tin-Tin that you were being very quiet but I must admit that I thought the worst when I saw you wobble on the steps. Are you sure you're alright?"

John released his grip on Jeff so he could sink back against the soft cushions on the sofa. He covered his face with his hands for a moment and then scrubbed at his eyes before dropping his hands down onto his knees. "I'm OK," he replied softly. "Just a bit low on sleep and a lot low on blood sugar. I've hopefully rectified the latter now and I don't think it'll be all that long before the former sorts itself, no matter whether I want it to or not."

Jeff smiled sadly and rested his hand on John's shoulder. "I understand," he murmured. "I'm going to need to talk to you at some point though."

"I know." John nodded tiredly. "I need to talk to you too." He reached out and rested a hand on the head of each of his younger brothers. "Maybe later though, once these two are settled?"

Jeff smiled at the objectionable looks that both Alan and Gordon sent towards John but noted that neither of them tried to move away from their brother or extract themselves from his grasp.

"We brought you some food, Dad," Alan pointed out suddenly. "In case you were hungry. Grandma and Kyrano were clearing up around us after we'd eaten so I don't think there'll be anything else hot served tonight."

Jeff nodded and bent down to carefully pick something up from the floor behind the sofa. "John," he said. "Penny sent your bag in with me. She said you were being rather protective of it so she thought you might like it back."

"Careful," John said as he reached around for the bag. "My computer's in there, along with a couple of Five's memory drives. Drives with things that I didn't want to risk the…er…wrong people getting their hands on." John paused and looked down at Alan for a moment before looking back at Jeff. "Oh, while I think of it, Colonel Benson said to tell you that there was a malfunction in the shuttle's navigation computer after it landed. Apparently something went wrong and it fried itself to the point where the shuttle's last journey is indecipherable."

Jeff snorted. "Did it really? Well that _is_ a shame. I may have to send me condolences to Colonel Benson and see if there's anything that Tracy Industries can do to help make their system more reliable." He shook his head fondly as he wandered around to the second sofa and sat down with a sigh. "Kaleb's a good man; I knew he'd do right by us. I take it everything went smoothly 'up there'? No problems with anything …or anyone?"

John shook his head. "No," he replied softly. "Docking was a little…um…interesting. It took a couple of attempts to marry the two docking ports together because the shuttle's a fair bit smaller than Three and wasn't as snug a fit in the tube. We got there in the end though and, in case you're worried, only two 'outsiders' boarded Five. Harris and…um…" John lowered his head slightly to protect himself from the shout that he expected Jeff to let out. "…Wheeldon."

The expected yell didn't happen and John looked up to see that Jeff was thinking hard. "Wheeldon," Jeff repeated. "Wheeldon. Wheeeeldon." He rolled the name around several more times and then looked across at John and shrugged. "No. I'm obviously supposed to know who this Wheeldon is and I was obviously supposed to object to his being aboard Five but no…I have no recollection who he is."

Alan sniggered slightly from his spot beside John who leant down and flicked his ear in a hint to him to be quiet. "Wheeldon's not a 'he', Dad, she's a 'she'," Alan piped up anyway. "Jessica Wheeldon. Think, Dad, thiiiiaai…Hey, that's not fair, Johnny."

John had been forced to resort to dirty tactics when Alan refused to shut up. He leaned over the youngster and jabbed his fingertips hard into the side of his brother's stomach. Alan squealed, twisted away from the intrusion and then overbalanced, narrowly missing the table as he ended up in a heap on the floor.

Alan rubbed at his stomach and began side-shuffling across the floor on his bottom. He stopped when he got level with Jeff's legs, stuck his tongue out at John and then climbed onto the sofa beside his father. "Johnny's being mean, Dad," he whined. "I was only trying to tell you about Jess and he started picking on me."

Jeff rolled his eyes at Alan and pulled him in for a hug. "That's because you, young man, are a class one, grade A, trouble maker. I know who she is now and, John, I have no problem with her being one of the ones who collected you; nor do I have a problem with the fact that she saw the interior of Five."

"You don't?" John queried in disbelief. "I…I thought you'd hit the roof when you found out."

Jeff shook his head. "I had assumed, from what Kaleb told me, that he was going to carefully select people who didn't know you to go up to collect you. I thought, at the time, that it was a good idea but now I come to think about it, it was probably wrong. You were already under stress, your routine was shot to hell and there I was asking sending a bunch of strangers into the only refuge you had available to you. Whether Kaleb came to the same reasoning or he couldn't manage to put together an entire crew that didn't know you, I don't know but I have to say that getting Jessica to pick you up was a stroke of genius. She's a friendly face, who you know and get along with well and above all you were guaranteed to know that she'd do you absolutely no harm at all."

John nodded and then jumped when Gordon wriggled out from under his arm and sat up. "Does she still want to marry you?" the aquanaut asked as he reached up and tried to pull his messed-up hair into some sort of order. "She is 'that' Jess, I take it?"

John flushed a deep red colour and nodded. "Yes and…oh, most definitely yes," he replied self-consciously. "She hasn't changed at all; she's still just as selfless and as sweet as ever. She agreed to go up on the shuttle as soon as Colonel Benson suggested it and it was only during the briefing, once everyone was together at the AFB that she found out it was me they were going to collect." John stopped and sucked in a slightly ragged breath. "Once she knew _why_ they were coming to get me she insisted on being one of the ones to come aboard. Harris didn't know what to do with himself when she marched past him and threw herself at me."

A tender smile spread across Jeff's face at the bashful expression John was wearing. "You still love her," he said softly.

John flushed red again and nodded. "Yeah and I don't think I realised how much I'd missed her until today. She…she said she understands now. She understands why I had to break it off." John leant against the gentle hand that Gordon laid on his back. "She understands and she doesn't…she doesn't hate me for it." He rubbed across his eyes and pushed the rogue tears across his face and into his hair. "Shit. There's too many emotions flying around to be having this conversation now. What I did…what I had to do…She…she has every right to hate me."

Gordon found himself supporting most of John's weight as Jeff left Alan on the sofa and moved across to perch on the coffee table. He captured one of John's hands and squeezed it gently. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "Oh, Johnny, I'm so, so sorry."

John shook his head. "Not…not your fault. It was my decision not your…yours. I broke it off. Me, not you. My fault. Mine."

John poked himself hard in the chest with his free hand and was about to do it again before Jeff caught that one as well and held it in a tight grip. "I think you're right," Jeff whispered. "There's definitely an overabundance of emotions in here tonight. Maybe we should shelve this one until another day?"

John struggled feebly against Jeff's grip for a moment and then sagged against Gordon who wrapped his arms around him. "Too tired to think any more," he groaned. "Too tired, emotional and pissed off with the world to think any more." John gently extricated himself from Gordon's grasp before scrambling to his feet and swaying on the spot. "Guys, it's no good, I'm going to have to get some sleep. Anyone who wants join me, please feel free."

Without another word, John brushed past Jeff and staggered towards Gordon's bedroom. Gordon hesitated for a moment and then clambered to his feet. He looked worriedly at Alan and then bent and kissed Jeff gently on his cheek before hurrying after John.

Alan looked undecided as Gordon walked away. "Dad?" he whispered quietly. "What just happened? Are we all…um…OK?"

Jeff closed his eyes and sighed before opening them and looking across at Alan. "OK is probably stretching it at the moment but…" He sighed again. "We _will_ be OK. It'll take time but we'll come out of this stronger than ever before. All we need is to stick together, you, me, Gordon, John and Grandma. There's a whole stack of people willing to help us; probably far more than when…" Jeff paused and breathed deeply. "…when your mother passed on. We've just got to remember that they're there and accept the help that they're offering."

Alan nodded and looked from Jeff towards the doorway that his brothers had disappeared through. "Dad?" he whispered. "Can I…"

Jeff turned his head and looked in the direction that Alan was staring. "Go on," he replied. "Go and sit with them…lie with them…whatever. I'll see you all later."

Alan nodded slowly. He slid off the sofa, landed on his knees and wandered across to Jeff without bothering to get to his feet. He hugged his father tightly and then pushed himself up and followed the others from the room.


	20. Chapter 20

~#~ (Chapter 20)

Jeff was roused from a deep sleep in the early hours of the next morning. He pulled himself upright from his slumped position on the sofa and looked around the sitting room in confusion.

He sat there for several minutes and then peered at his watch and frowned when he realised that the ambient light in the room was far brighter than it should have been for that time of night. He stood up and attempted to cross the room but found himself falling to the floor when the blanket that someone had laid over him fell around his feet.

Jeff let out a soft curse as he kicked out at the blanket and then followed it with a much louder yelp when a figure moved silently out of the shadows and pulled him to his feet. "Kyrano. Thanks for your help my friend but if you try that again then I may have to put a bell one you. You damn near gave me a heart attack, sneaking up on me like that."

Kyrano smiled and nodded his head briefly. "I apologise, Mr Tracy, sir. It was my intention to reach you before you made contact with the flooring but I was a little slow." He let out a quiet chuckle. "Indeed I found myself impeded by my own coverings in much the same way as yourself."

Jeff looked around and realised that Kyrano had been resting in Ruth's glider chair. A hand stitched blanket lay over one of the arms and Jeff smiled softly when he looked down to find that the blanket he'd tripped on matched it. "Mother finally got them done," he murmured. "I thought she was still weeks away from finishing the second one?"

Kyrano nodded again. "This one is complete," he replied as he picked Jeff's blanket up from the floor and folded it neatly before laying it on the sofa. "The second…" He pointed towards the glider chair, "…is not fully decorated."

"Have you been there long?" Jeff asked. "Only I don't recollect you being there when I sat down." Jeff cocked his head to one side and listened for a moment. "Is that what I think it is?" he asked and then moved across to the picture window before Kyrano had the chance to reply.

Kyrano stepped up beside him as Jeff looked out and discovered that this was where the excess of ambient light had been coming from. The soft, blue lights beneath the surface of the pool had been switched on, as had several of the smaller patio lamps which were casting long shadows outwards towards the perimeter of the pool area.

Jeff sought out his sons and frowned slightly when he realised that he could only see Gordon and John. He moved closer to the window, with the frown still on his face and then smiled broadly when he finally located Alan. The youngest Tracy boy had obviously been unimpressed with the prospect of being dragged out of bed at such an early hour because he had positioned himself on the most distant sun lounger, in the darkest part of the pool area. He had taken one of the blankets from Gordon's bed down to poolside with him and was lying with it pulled up over his head so he was completely obscured from view.

In complete contrast to their younger brother, John and Gordon were wide awake. John, who was both barefoot and bare-chested, was lying at one end of the pool in a pair of chocolate-brown sweatpants. He had one hand trailing in the water and as Jeff watched he saw that John reached out and made contact with Gordon each time the red-head drew level with him. The touches were only slight and occasionally very subtle but they were obviously significant enough to reassure Gordon that John was there and that he could continue swimming.

Gordon for his part was cruising slowly, up and down the pool. He was performing slow, lazy turns at the far side of the pool and paused each and every time he reached John. Over the years Jeff, Scott, John and Virgil had become good at matching Gordon's moods with his swimming style and Jeff could only describe this style as 'glum'.

"At least he has ventured into the water," Kyrano said softly. "It is not a good sign when Master Gordon avoids his pool."

Jeff shook his head. "No, it's not," he replied. "I won't pretend to know how John got him in there but I have to say that I'm not sure that you or I could have done the same. Not after the difficulties we had last night."

Kyrano nodded but remained silent as he stood beside his friend and watched Gordon trundle back and forth in the water below.

~#~

The two men were still watching when, several minutes later, Gordon faltered midway up the pool. Jeff gasped and reached a hand up to the glass window as Gordon simply stopped, hung motionless in the water for a moment and then sunk.

John scrambled to his knees in preparation for throwing himself into the pool after his brother when Gordon began moving again. The red-head was soon torpedoing through the water, using the powerful fly-kicks that had helped earn him his Olympic medal so many years before and John suddenly realised that the aquanaut was heading straight for him, just as fast as he could possibly swim.

John reached down into the water to grab his brother but found himself falling flat on his back when Gordon launched himself out of the pool and into his arms. Despite the awkwardness of the situation, John wrapped his arms tightly around his younger brother and pulled him tightly against his chest as Gordon let out a wail and clung to him, shaking.

"Thank God," Jeff whispered. "I've had tears and questions from Alan and I've had tears and regrets from John but Gordon…Gordon's kept himself locked up tighter than…well, I don't know what, since he brought everyone back here. I was hoping that having John around would be the catalyst which allowed him to relax enough to start grieving properly and it looks, finally, like I may have been right."

Kyrano nodded and watched as John wrapped one of his legs around Gordon's knees and pulled him even tighter against him. Alan, who had been disturbed Gordon's shout, crept out from under his blanket and slunk around the edge of the pool towards his brothers. When he reached them he was unsure of what to do with himself and didn't want to disturb the pair so he sat down at the bottom of the steps up to the house, pulled his knees up to his chest and waited.

~#~

Jeff gathered up his blanket from the sofa and let himself out of the patio doors. He walked quietly down the steps, draped the blanket around Alan's shoulders and sat down beside him.

"You're not going to have him knocked out again, are you?" Alan asked as he pulled the blanket around himself. "He's…he's not as bad as last night."

Jeff smiled gently and rested his arm across the back of the blanket as he looked across to where John and Gordon were lying. "No," he whispered. "I won't be having him sedated again tonight. This…" Jeff pointed towards the others. "This is what he should have been doing last night, rather than getting himself so worked up that we couldn't get through to him. This…" Jeff pointed again. "…is good, believe it or not. Crying is therapeutic and cleansing and it's exactly what Gordon's been denying himself for in excess of thirty six hours. Remember that he bore the brunt of everything that happened on the rescue. He discovered Scott, liaised with the fire-fighters, looked after you and then flew everybody home. Apart from that short pause, just before you got back, he didn't stop or take any time for himself and then, after you got back, he basically shut down which is why we put him to bed."

Alan nodded as he mulled over Jeff's words. "Then he woke up, went kind of nuts, got jabbed and stayed asleep until the morning," he said slowly. He thought again for a moment and screwed up his nose. "He wasn't really right after he woke up though, or for the rest of the day for that matter. He stuck to me like glue, didn't really eat and then fell asleep for hours. He woke up, didn't eat again, didn't do a lot and then John came home and we all went back to bed."

Jeff snorted at Alan's succinct description of the boys' day. "I think that sums it up quite nicely," he agreed. "John was too tired himself to do anything about Gordon when he got back but I assume, once he'd had a decent rest, that he took Gordon to task and that's how you all ended up out here?"

Alan nodded slowly. "I think Gordon had started to have another nightmare," he replied. "'cos he kind of yelped, which woke me up and then kicked out at John and woke him as well. John tried talking to him but he didn't really get anywhere 'cos Gordy wasn't making any sense and then next thing I knew John had persuaded him to come down here for a swim. I don't really get how he did that 'cos Gordon seemed dead against the pool yesterday and he doesn't do swimming at night any more since you threatened to fill the pool in that time. You know, when he got that really bad cramp and would've drowned if it hadn't been for the fact that Scott had an attack of the munchies and spotted him on the way through to the kitchen."

Jeff rolled his eyes. "I remember," he chuckled. "I also remember the roasting that Virgil gave him which is what woke me up so I actually found out about it in the first place. I'm pretty sure that Scott would have kept the whole thing from me if he could have."

Alan gave a little smirk. "Probably," he agreed. "He was good about things like that." Alan's eyes misted over slightly as he stared across the pool into the darkened jungle. "I'm going to miss him," he said quietly. "I'm going to miss both of them."

Jeff tightened his grip on Alan's shoulders and pulled him into a sideways hug. "We all are," he murmured. "We all are."


	21. Chapter 21

~#~ (Chapter 21)

Almost an hour later, John called out quietly to Jeff who was drowsing on the step beside Alan who had fallen asleep, still wrapped in the blanket.

"Hey," Jeff called quietly back, "How are you doing over there?"

John craned his head round uncomfortably until he could see his father and then chuckled. "Much the same as you, it seems. I take it he's asleep in there?"

Jeff nodded. "Has been for some time," he replied. "What about yours?"

John rested his cheek against Gordon's forehead for a moment and then looked back at Jeff. "Cried himself to sleep. He…I knew it was coming but, Christ, when Gordon bottles it, he _really_ bottles it."

Jeff smiled sadly and copied John's backwards-looking motion as he looked towards the house in an attempt to locate Kyrano. "I can't see a thing up there," he hissed. "Why didn't you turn more lights on?"

"'Cos you were asleep on the sofa." Alan's quietly grumbled reply made Jeff jump and then smile.

"Alan," he murmured. "I thought you were asleep."

"Was," he groaned. "Too much talking. We…" Alan was forced to stop talking when his face was split by a huge yawn which he tried to smother in the blanket. "Ugh, er, sorry. John sent me to turn on the lights but you and Kyrano were asleep so I turned on as few as I thought I could get away with. I don't think I disturbed either of you."

Jeff shook his head. "You didn't disturb me, or at least not enough for me to have been aware of it."

The patio doors at the top of the steps made a quiet 'swish' and Jeff leant backwards to see Kyrano padding silently towards him. Kyrano nodded to acknowledge Jeff's look and sat down a couple of steps above Alan's right shoulder. "I did not want to intrude before," he explained softly. "…but when it became apparent that several of you had awoken I thought it wise to offer my assistance, either with refreshments or with Masters Alan or Gordon."

He, Jeff and Alan all looked down to where John and Gordon were lying on the tiles at the edge of the pool. "I…I would like to move him," John admitted. "Even if it's just on to one of the loungers. Gords has pretty much dried out from his dip in the pool but I'm…" John wriggled as much as he could without disturbing Gordon. "…well, I'm kind of...in a puddle."

Kyrano nodded and, with a swish of silk, clambered to his feet and hurried into the house. John watched him go with a frown on his face. "Where do you suppose he's gone?"

Jeff looked in the direction which Kyrano had disappeared in and shrugged. "I'm not sure but we'll know soon enough. Alan, can I move you onto one of the loungers as well? I don't know about you but I'm not going to be able to get up if I sit here much longer."

Alan chuckled and untangled himself from the blanket so he could get to his feet. He held his hand out to help Jeff up and grinned when the older man groaned and rubbed his hip. "You should have said something sooner."

"I didn't want to wake you," Jeff replied. "…and I'll be alright in a minute. I just need to move around a bit. You can sit down again if you want, I won't be offended."

Alan smiled softly and turned to see Kyrano heading back down the steps with a pile of soft towels. "I'm going to go and make some drinks," he announced and scooped his blanket back up off the steps to allow Kyrano past. "I'll be back in a bit. Should I make a flask? Then if Gordon wakes up he can have some but it won't matter if he doesn't 'cos there'll just be more for the rest of us."

Jeff waited for Kyrano to pass them and then gently pushed his son up the first couple of steps. "A flask will do fine," he replied. "Make sure you bring enough cups though so that Kyrano can drink with us. If you only bring four then he'll feel obligated not to take the last one in case Gordon wakes up and needs it."

Alan nodded and headed off into the house. He turned and looked down when he reached the door and watched as Kyrano helped John to lift Gordon up from the floor.

Jeff rubbed the worst of the water from John's shoulders and back, wrapped a towel around his damp sweatpants and then nudged him over to the towel-covered sun lounger. It took both Jeff and Kyrano's help to get John down onto the sun lounger without disturbing Gordon but between them they managed it and by the time John was settled under a blanket, Alan had disappeared into the house.

~#~

Gordon didn't wake when Alan returned with the drinks and was still steadfastly asleep by the time the flask of hot chocolate was empty. A brief discussion was held about whether to wake him or leave him and eventually it was decided that John would remain outside on the sun lounger with him until Gordon woke himself.

Alan couldn't face the idea of going back to Gordon's room alone so Jeff took him to bed with him instead. Alan spent the rest of the night curled up against his father's back like a frightened child and was still there when Ruth finally woke them for breakfast just before 9.30.

~#~

Alan went back to his room to dress and have a quick wash while Jeff did the same in his own bathroom. They met up again once they were both ready and wandered through into the kitchen where they found John and Gordon sitting together at the table. John's plate was empty, save for a couple of smears of syrup whereas Gordon had a pile of pancakes in front of him which he was slowly demolishing.

Jeff stepped into the room and kissed John's hair before wandering over to Gordon and doing the same to him. "How are you both this morning," he asked quietly.

Gordon sniggered quietly and raised his eyes from his plate just long enough to glance at John and quickly turned back to his food. "John's all stiff," he murmured. "…in a non-specific sort of a way. He's just…stiff."

Alan snorted and then yelped and hid behind Gordon when John swiped one of the napkins off the table and flicked the back of his legs with it. "Not so stiff that I can't catch little twerps who take the piss out of me. You try spending the night wrapped in damp towels on one of those lounger chairs and see how well you can move in the morning."

Gordon looked up and batted his eyes at John in a way that was obviously supposed to look innocent but actually had the effect of making the aquanaut look like he was high on some sort of illegal substance. "I spent the night wrapped in damp towels on one of those lounger chairs and I'm just fine, look." He stood up, mindful of his plate and held his hands out beside him before flexing his rather impressive biceps. "See?"

John picked up his fork, stabbed at Gordon's last piece of pancake and stuck it in his mouth before his brother had the chance to object. He chewed slowly, swallowed and then brandished the fork at Gordon. "You did not…" he began. "…spend the night on the lounger chair, wrapped in damp towels. You spent the night on the lounger wrapped between me and a nice warm blanket. You were dry when you went into the blanket and you were dry when you came out of it again and don't forget, I spent the best part of an hour lying in a puddle before we even got onto the chair."

Gordon blushed and looked down at his plate. He frowned at the lack of pancake and sighed. "Aw, man, I was enjoying that."

Jeff patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sure your grandmother will let you have seconds if you ask her nicely."

John chuckled and pointed at the plate with his fork. "That _was_ seconds," he said with a grin. "…but I'm sure Grandma will run to thirds if you ask her reeeally nicely."

Gordon looked from John to his plate, to Jeff and then back to John who smiled at him and nodded encouragingly. "Really nicely, Gords. Ask her reeeally nicely."

Gordon scurried into the pantry where he knew Ruth was getting the things together for the day's main meal. The door swung closed behind him and there was a pause before Jeff, John and Alan heard Ruth squeal. "Put me down, young man. I've never liked carousels and I certainly don't need to know what it feels like to be a human one." There was another pause shortly followed by an exclamation of, "No. No, I don't need your help. Yes, I'm perfectly capable of reaching that shelf. For heaven's sake Gordon, will you go and sit down. I'll make you something in a moment now shoo!"

Gordon bounced out of the pantry and headed back towards the table, high-fiving Alan as he passed him. He threw himself back into his seat and sat there looking rather smug as John and Jeff looked at one another in amusement.

Jeff nodded to John and then moved to sit in his usual spot at the head of the table. Kyrano appeared a moment later and placed a steaming mug of coffee in front of both Jeff and Alan. He peered into John's mug, tutted softly and then wandered away again, returning a moment later with a carafe of coffee which he filled John's mug up with before doing the same to Gordon's.


	22. Chapter 22

~#~ (Chapter 22)

Jeff was reluctant to risk disrupting the agreeable mood that Gordon appeared to have woken up in but knew that he was running out of time in which to speak to John before Scott and Virgil were taken off the island. He hinted that the two younger boys should find Penelope and take her for a walk seeing as they hadn't seen her either the previous night or that morning. He also added that Tin-Tin might like to accompany them which turned out to be a deal-clincher for Alan who immediately dragged Gordon through the house to the upstairs guest quarters, more commonly known as 'Lady P's rooms' because she was the only one who ever stayed in them.

Parker stopped the two boys before they could go bursting into the main suite. He caught each of the pair by the scruff of their necks and hauled them backwards into his own room. "'er ladyship h'and Miss Kyrano h'are 'aving h'a grand trying h'on session h'in there, young sirs. 'Er ladyship was h'unsure h'of just what to do with 'erself this morning due to there being no Tracys h'around to h'amuse 'er. Miss Kyrano h'accompanied 'er back 'ere h'after she'd broke 'er fast h'and they 'ave been playing with clothes h'ever since."

Gordon chuckled quietly to himself and Alan opened his mouth to speak, only to snap it closed again when someone knocked on Parker's door. "H'is that you m'lady?" Parker called. "H'if you h'is decent then you may h'enter. H'If you h'is not then h'I would respectfully 'ask you to stay h'out so h'as not to corrupt the minds h'of the young h'innocents what h'I 'ave sequestered h'in 'ere."

The door swung open and Tin-Tin and Penelope tumbled through into the room. Tin-Tin was wearing Penelope's favourite very short, monochrome dancing dress and Penny herself was dressed in the floor-length lavender-coloured silk dress that Jeff had treated Tin-Tin to when she'd finished her degree. The two women very quickly calmed themselves down and Tin-Tin flushed red when she realised that she was showing a lot more leg than normal to the youngest Tracy boys. She looked bashfully at Alan who gave her a cheeky wink and then backed out of the door to get changed.

Penelope greeted the boys with her usual English charm, despite her somewhat unorthodox entry into the room. She left imprints of her lipstick on both their cheeks and gave each boy a long hug before making her excuses and leaving them with Parker again while she, like Tin-Tin, got changed.

~#~

Tin-Tin was first to finish getting back into her normal clothes and she let herself out of Penelope's bedroom and tracked Alan and Gordon down to the 'waiting room'. The 'waiting room' was a relatively small room containing bookcases, a desk and a vid-phone, a large TV, a sofa and a couple of comfortable armchairs. Originally, when the room had first been shown to her, Penelope had wanted to call it the 'drawing room' but Jeff had vetoed that, saying that it was a 'sitting room' and not a 'drawing room'. No-one called it anything for some time and in the end it turned into another room that got stuck with the name that Alan knew it by. For a small, active child, Penelope's morning ablutions had seemed abysmally long. The 'I won't be a moment, I'm just going to powder my nose' used to take far longer than Alan's short attention span could cope with and he had dubbed the room 'the waiting room' because, in his opinion, that's all he used to do in there.

By the time Penelope emerged from the bedroom, suitably attired in one of her usual pink trouser-suits, Tin-Tin was sitting in the centre of the sofa, snuggled in between Alan and Gordon. The three youngsters were chatting amicably to one another and looked so content that Penny felt almost guilty about dragging them outside.

~#~

As soon as Alan and Gordon were safely out of the way, John hurried off to collect his computer. He met up with Brains at the door to Jeff's office and the pair stepped inside to find agents nineteen and twenty three speaking quietly with Jeff.

"Dad," John murmured as he walked in. "I thought this was just going to be you, me, Brains and maybe Kyrano."

Jeff shook his head. "That's what I had planned, John but the preliminary results are back on Scott. Brains thought it would be beneficial for us to hear the details directly from the Doctors Nitschke and Aldridge."

John nodded his head doubtfully and sat down on the chair at the end of Jeff's desk which had been set aside for him. "I guess that makes sense," he said slowly. "There's no point in playing Chinese whispers with the information after all. I have my own theory on what happened to Scott but I've kept quiet and I will continue to do so. I would imagine the others have their own ideas too but I think we're going to have to be extremely careful about exactly _what_ we tell them and also _when_ we tell them it. Gordon seems a lot better this morning but he still seems…I don't know…fragile, somehow. It's not a word that I'd normally use to describe Gordon but it…well, it kind of fits."

"I know what you mean," Jeff agreed. "While the crying and upset of last night seemed like something of a breakthrough, Gordon seems to me to have gone far too far the other way this morning. He's…well, he's just _too_ cheerful. He's either doing a very remarkable job of covering up how he's feeling or he's swinging from depressed to exuberant with no thought to catching himself on the middle ground. I hate to say it, and I know it's early days yet, but we're going to have to monitor him closely and at some point we're going to have to make the decision as to whether he's going to need more help than we can give him alone. The offer of help's also open to you and Alan, should you feel the need to talk to someone away from here but for obvious reasons I think this is going to affect Gordon more, perhaps, than any of us."

John looked thoughtful and hugged his computer tight against his belly. Jeff looked quizzically at him for a moment and then turned away with a shrug when John shook his head.

"Silke, Morris…thank you again for coming here so swiftly. I know I've asked your forgiveness for my abrupt tone when I contacted you before but I'd just like to apologise again. I've pulled you away from your families, friends and lives with absolutely no notice but you've stepped up without question and I appreciate that a lot."

The two doctors nodded silently so Jeff turned to the only other person who knew anything about why they were there. "Brains, would you like to begin?"

"I…I…I…ah…if you…if you li-li-like. Al-although I…I admit that I…I…I'm struggling a-a-as you-you-you can t-t-tell." Brains fell quiet with a shrug and Jeff silently nodded his understanding, turning instead to Doctor Nitschke, AKA Agent 23.

"Silke," he said softly. "It seems to have fallen to you, I'm afraid."


	23. Chapter 23

~#~ (Chapter 23)

The doctor pursed her lips gently, tucked a stray piece of her bright red hair behind her ear and then sat forward on her chair. "Alright," she began. "For the purpose of this conversation we are focussing on Scott alone, yes?"

Jeff nodded gently. "We are. Scott seemed in perfect health when he left aboard Thunderbird 1. He was never one to complain about feeling sick or unwell but he would have usually at least mentioned something in passing and he certainly wouldn't have risked the ship by flying her out of here if he thought he might not be well enough to bring her home again."

"That's true," John added softly. "One was his baby and more important to him than pretty much anything other than the nine of us living with him here on the island. If he'd even imagined that he might be taken unwell, out in the field, then he would've at least insisted that Alan travelled with him; if not then he'd have handed One to someone else entirely and would then, more than likely, have put himself to bed in a sulk."

Silke pursed her lips again. "That would agree with our findings. I believe that Scott would have had very little warning prior to his death and would have felt well until only a short time before he died. Death, as far as we can ascertain, was caused by an intracerebral haemorrhage or as it is sometimes known, a haemorrhagic stroke. This was brought on, we believe, by uncontrolled hypertension caused by the stress of Virgil's passing. The haemorrhage appears to have caused massive damage in a brutally short space of time and while it is highly likely that Scott would have realised that something was very wrong with him he would have had no way to know what the problem was nor exactly how serious. We know that he was found with his head in his hands so he may have been in pain or have suffered some disorientation. It was also reported that he had vomited in the moments before his collapse; this is common with an increase in intracranial pressure."

"He knew, alright," John murmured. "He knew and he was scared and…" John paused and glanced at Jeff, "…and he was totally alone and out of radio contact."

Jeff cocked his head to one side and met John's gaze. "Which was his doing, John, not ours. I know Scott wasn't thinking straight at the time but he knew you were listening to him over the Firefly's monitoring unit and he was within reach of Virgil's watch, even if his own was damaged beyond use when he cut the pair of us off."

John hugged his computer tighter against himself and pressed his chin against the top of it. "But I _wasn't_ listening," he whispered. "I was with you, telling the kids about Virgil. Scott was talking quietly to Virg and I muted the feed, partly to give him a little privacy and partly so I could turn all my attentions on to Gordon and Alan. It was only once we'd signed off from speaking to them that I turned the feed from the 'fly back up and realised it was too quiet. I tried raising Scott on his watch but couldn't get a reply so I rewound the tapes and heard…" John swallowed loudly. "…well, I heard Scott. He'd obviously got into difficulties and had been crying out for help before suddenly falling quiet. That's when I asked Gordy to go and check up on him and…well, you know the rest. I can't help thinking that if I'd been listening then we might have got to Scott in time. We might have saved him."

Agent 19, Morris Aldridge, stepped around the desk and crouched beside John. "There would have been little or no chance of that, John; even if you'd been sitting beside him when he first fell," he said softly. "And from what we saw on the autopsy you wouldn't have got him back completely, even if you had saved him; the damage was just too severe. If, by some miracle, he'd been reached, removed from the Firefly alive and hospitalised immediately then he wouldn't have been the Scott that you've all known and loved. He'd have been disabled, both mentally and physically; possibly to the point of being vegetative and John, can you honestly tell me that Scott would have wanted to live like that?"

John shook his head and reached blindly out towards Jeff who caught his hand and squeezed it. "We've all spoken about a scenario like the one you just described and no, he wouldn't have wanted to live like that, especially not without Virgil. Dad, I…"

John stopped and sighed and for a moment Jeff thought he might not finish what he was going to say. He gave John's hand another comforting squeeze. "Go on, son."

John shrugged and gripped Jeff's hand tightly. "Virg made him promise not to do anything stupid. Do you think he would have done, if this hadn't happened?"

Jeff reached up his free hand and wiped his face. "I don't know," he replied honestly. "I'd like to think not, especially after making a promise to Virgil that he wouldn't but I think he'd have…how can I word this? I think he may have been less careful with himself in the future than he would otherwise have been. I think it highly likely that he would have started to take unnecessary risks that he wouldn't have normally taken in the…hope's not the word I want but 'in the hope' that he would follow Virgil without having to break his promise to him. He'd have only put himself at risk, mind, he'd have never put the three of you in danger but himself…" Jeff sighed. "Those are my thoughts on it. I may have been right, I may have been wrong but it's something we'll never know and is probably something we shouldn't dwell on. If there's something I've learnt over the years it's that what-might-have-beens are destructive. They mess with your mind and if left to fester they will come out and catch you unawares at the most inopportune of moments. Let them go, John. Bury them deep and don't let them see sunlight again."

John smiled sadly and then nodded and pulled his hand back where he tucked it around the computer. "This has the logs, recordings and sensor readings for the entire rescue. I brought it with me in case it could help but I don't think it will tell us much more about Scott than we already know. I do need to ask about his eye though. Gordon specifically mentioned that his eye was…" he stopped and winced. "He described it as 'pffft' and made a sort of…um…bursting motion with his hand. Above everything that seemed to stand out as a particular issue for Gords as it was a visible representation of what had happened to Scott. As far as I've gathered he was intact and uninjured other than that one…er…symptom."

"Mydriasis," Doctor Aldridge explained. "…or 'blown pupil' is another symptom of increased intracranial pressure. That and the vomiting were the only truly visible signs of Scott's troubles. He…" The doctor stopped and looked at Jeff in concern. "Mr Tracy, are you alright?"

Jeff had pulled his hand back from where John had left it and had pressed it against his right eye. He jumped and dropped it to the desk with a thud as Morris turned his attentions towards him. "I…I…Scott, he…he did this," Jeff lifted his hand to his eye again and looked flustered. "…just after Virgil passed away. I…he…" Jeff shrugged and lowered his arm more gently onto the table and clamped his hands together. "I didn't think anything of it at the time. Was that when his problems began?"


	24. Chapter 24

~#~ (Chapter 24)

Doctor Aldridge turned towards Doctor Nitschke who nodded gently, telling him to continue. "That was more than likely when Scott first became aware of it although the bleed would have begun some time before. If Scott have been tucked in hospital bed, hooked up to monitors and with someone watching him at that point then there is the vaguest of possibilities that he could have been saved. We have speculated that the cascade effect of damage happened so fast from that moment in though that, even in a hospital situation, he would have suffered the severe brain damage that we discussed before."

Jeff found his hands being prised apart as John forced one of his between them and clung on tightly. He smiled sadly and leaned sideways to meet John's shoulder with his own. "Was this something that could have been predicted? Honestly, please. Was my son a ticking time bomb and…" Jeff clung to John's hand and leant harder against him. "…is it something that could happen again?"

Everyone in the room understood that Jeff was worried that one of his three remaining sons would suffer the same fate as his eldest. John untangled his hand from his father's and wrapped his arms tightly around him.

"M-Mr Tracy," Brains murmured softly. "John and G-Gordon are different to S-S-Scott in many, many ways. They-they have different c-coping mechanisms, are far-far-far more laid back than their b-brother and do-do not usually bottle up their fee-feelings to a point which is un-unhealthy. Alan has m-many of Scott's traits b-but being the youngest, has s-spent his life in something of a pro-protective bubble. As such he has n-never been put under the same s-s-strain that Scott experienced during his li-lifetime and has, as-as-as yet, never shown any sign that he might be p-predisposed to the bouts of hy-hy-hypertension that Scott has been prone to in…ah…in recent years."

Silke glanced at Morris and leaned forwards again. "We have looked through the medical records that are held here for Scott. His blood pressure has become steadily worse over the past few years and we've noted that there have been times where one or another of your medics had been forced to medicate him as it approached potentially dangerous levels. Cross referencing these incidences with the mission logs it appears that Scott's periods of hypertension often seemed to coincide with an accident or injury to one or more of your other sons, Mr Tracy, or on occasion a particularly disturbing rescue with multiple victims that Scott felt that he should have been able to save."

Jeff nodded and then sighed. "Scott has cared for his brothers and been a surrogate parent to them since the day their mother died. He continued that care throughout their adult lives and carried it over into his role as Field Commander. Scott gave up a promising USAF career to help me put International Rescue together and it automatically fell to him to fill the position of Field Commander as he would never have trusted his brothers' safety to anyone else. It was a job he loved but I admit that recently he had begun to take each injury, ailment or failure more and more personally. He would take his frustrations out on the equipment in the gym, in the pool or simply by disappearing somewhere on the island and running for hours. Occasionally this wouldn't work and things would come to a head but between us all we'd learned to cope with it, calm things down and everything would be fine again for a while. Maybe we should have realised that things couldn't keep going the way they were; maybe…"

It was Jeff's turn to shrug and the room fell silent for several minutes until Jeff sighed again. "The press are going to get wind of things as soon as I start making funeral arrangements. We're going to need a water-tight cover story as to what happened to Scott and Virgil and how. The media will demand details and photographs and we will have to ensure that nothing that is published can be used to link any of us to International Rescue. For Scott in particular, any pictures sent to the press need to be either old enough to be irrelevant or altered in some way so that anyone who has seen International Rescue at work doesn't simply switch on their television sets and know our true identities. Speculation about the sudden closure of International Rescue is going to be rife for some time yet so we need to be absolutely certain about anything we send out."

John, who still had his arm around his father, frowned. "Are you expecting a full-on media frenzy, with paparazzi at the funeral and the like?"

Jeff nodded sadly, "I'm afraid that's exactly what I'm expecting, John. I have a feeling that the press will grab the story with both hands and will simply run with it until they can run no more. You know as well as I do that the press are the main reason that I travel to the mainland as little as possible and that our need for secrecy is why I've always asked you all to take helijets directly to the offices so you can land, do your business and get away again without having to worry about a photographer trying to catch you out when you're least expecting it."

"We've always understood that, Dad," John replied softly. "Some people might think you were being restrictive but it's not like you stopped us going out, you just taught us to be observant and sensible whenever we did."

"You were always observant and sensible, John," Jeff said, patting his son's arm. "…and no, it certainly never stopped any of you going out. I seem to remember a certain evening where the island was left pretty much deserted after everyone decided on an impromptu overnight stay in Paris…"

John snorted. "You can't pin anything to do with that one on me. I was tucked up in my normal spot way, way up there at the time." John pointed towards the ceiling and smiled. "Oh…and _I_ seem to remember that someone got himself all lonely that evening and spent a most of the time connected to the space station talking nonsense with his space monitor."

Jeff shook his head in fond memory. "Scott was none too impressed with being left out of the fun but he _had_ just got back from vacation and it was good for Virgil and Gordon to be able to let their hair down without him. I never did get the full story of exactly what they got up to that night but I'm convinced I'm better off not knowing."

"You probably are," John smiled again briefly before his forehead crumpled and a sad look crossed his face. "It's not something that will happen again, either. I…we…I don't suppose we'll be leaving the island much in the near future and we're certainly not going to feel like partying any time soon."

Jeff shook his head. "I know it's an unreasonable gut reaction but at the moment I'd prefer that the three of you stay on the island and within reach. The little ones need monitoring, especially Gordon and you, John, I need your help and support as much as I'm sure you need mine."

John nodded sadly. "I have no intention of going anywhere," he murmured. "…and if you feel the need to get me poked, prodded and checked-over then go ahead; within reason, of course. I'm sure the others would feel the same, as long as we broach it to them carefully."

Morris smiled gently at the interactions between the father and son. "John, you have been poked, prodded and analysed far more than any of your brothers over the years due to the nature of your job and the fact that you have more years behind you than Alan. I am confident that we will find nothing on any tests but I volunteer my services, Mr Tracy, if you want John, Gordon or Alan checking over to put your mind at ease."

"I would like that," Jeff replied quietly. "Although maybe we should hold off suggesting it until Gordon is a little more stable." He glanced at this watch and let out a surprised breath. "Penny didn't want to keep them away for too long in case of any breakdowns so they'll probably be back soon. John, I wanted to give you the option of visiting with Scott and Virgil but we're running out of time before they have to leave. I said my goodbyes yesterday morning, before you got back and Alan was asking whether he could say goodbye to them. We talked it through and he decided against it so that he'll remember them full of life and vigour rather than laid out, cold and motionless on a sickroom bed. Unfortunately though, John, Gordon and yourself don't have the same luxury. You watched as Virgil died and from what you said earlier, you also listened to Scott's final moments. I will leave it up to you as to whether you visit with them but they will be leaving the island tomorrow morning so I'm afraid the decision will have to be made quickly."

"I want to see them," John replied immediately. "…and I think Gordy should too, bearing in mind what he went through the other day and how they were when he last saw them both. I'll talk to him and take him in with me if he agrees."

Jeff glanced at Morris and Silke who both nodded their agreement to John's suggestion. Brains gave him the ghost of a smile and did the same. "OK, just…go carefully with him. I'll take Alan down to the beach this afternoon so that you can have some time alone with Gordon. I'll speak to Penny over lunch as well, so you can be sure that you won't be disturbed."


	25. Chapter 25

~#~ (Chapter 25)

The cheerfulness that Gordon had displayed during breakfast had all but evaporated by the time everyone sat down for lunch. He said little, ate almost nothing and by the time the meal was over he was staring sightlessly down at the table in a silent stupor.

Penny excused herself and gave John a sympathetic look as she walked back to her suite of rooms with Tin-Tin in tow. John watched her go and then nodded to Jeff.

The Tracy patriarch stood up and cleared his throat. "I could do with some fresh air," he announced. "I know you've been out with Penny this morning but I'd like you to accompany me, Alan. Just down to the beach. We can talk."

Alan looked past Gordon's bowed head to where John was watching him. The elder of the two brothers gave a tight smile and nodded. "We'll be OK if you want to go with Dad. Won't we, Gordy?"

No-one was surprised when Gordon failed to react. Jeff rested a hand on one of Alan's shoulders and gently turned him towards the door. "John'll look after your brother," he murmured. "You come with me; I think those two have things they want to discuss."

Alan placidly allowed himself to be propelled across the room, through the door, down the steps and onto the sand. John waited for several minutes until his father and brother were out of earshot and then wrapped an arm around Gordon's shoulders and gave him a gentle squeeze. "Are you done here?" he asked quietly. "Because I need to talk to you."

The only outward sign that Gordon had heard was the slight furrow that formed in the centre of his forehead. John took this as a sign that Gordon was listening and pressed onward. "It's important, Gords and much as I'd rather it could wait, it just can't."

With a jerky and almost mechanical motion, Gordon turned to look at his brother. "Scott," he whispered. "…and Virg. You think I should go and see them. Don't you?"

John was quite taken aback that Gordon had pre-empted his entire conversation. "People really don't give you the credit you deserve, Gords, you know that? Even though you're upset and distraught and seem to be shutting the world away…" John shrugged helplessly. "Your mind's still running at three hundred miles an hour and you're aware of the world around you, even if you're not reacting to it."

Gordon shrugged. "Too much going on," he replied softly as he wrapped himself in a self-hug and leaning forward until his head was resting gently on the edge of his placemat. "I don't know how to cope. I don't know what to do. I want to shut my mind off but my body goes instead. It's kind of stupid really."

"It's not stupid, Gords." John shook him gently. "There _is_ too much going on and unfortunately there will be for some time yet. Saying goodbye to Scott and Virgil is just one of many steps that are going to need to be taken before we can even think about things getting back to some form of normal."

"Normal will never be normal again though, will it?" Gordon asked as he pulled his head up from the table and looked at his brother. "I mean, yeah, I'm sure it'll improve from today, God knows it can't really get any worse, but it won't be _normal_."

John shook his head. "Our definition of normal will have to change completely if we're going to cope with life as three rather than five. We need to stick together, Gords, more than ever before. You, me and Al, we need to help one another and we need to help Dad through this too. The funeral's going to be hard on everyone but it will be especially so on him."

Gordon nodded. "I know," he whispered. "I take it we're going back home for that? That's why Father Fletcher's here, isn't it? So that Dad can make arrangements?"

"Partly," John replied. "…but I think it's more likely that he's here as moral support for Grandma. You know as well as I do what Dad thinks of the religious side of…well, pretty much everything. If he could avoid it he would and he hinted earlier that he hasn't started making funeral arrangements yet anyway. He's worried that the press are going to start hounding us once he does and he's concerned about Scott and Virgil's deaths somehow being linked to the closure of International Rescue. He's got to come up with a cover story that he can feed to the media that's not too far from the truth of what happened but that's water-tight enough that it will stand up under scrutiny."

Gordon adjusted his self-hug and leaned down to scratch his leg. "It was a testing accident. Virgil was testing something on the latest prototype of the TC206, the newest innovation in deep sea mining equipment. Get Brains to insert a description of large, complicated piece of machinery and maybe a sketch for reference. He's got enough half-drawn designs in his office that he must have something that'd do the job. Anyway, there was an explosion and Virgil was injured. Scott rushed in to try and save him only to find himself overcome by fumes or…something which caused him to pass out and expire peacefully at his brother's feet. I don't know where everyone else was or why no-one else tried to help but I'm sure that someone can come up with a reason for that. It's succinct, plausible and not that far from the truth. Will that do you?"

"I think so," John replied softly. "I wasn't really suggesting that you fabricate the whole story for Dad but you've obviously given it a lot of thought. There may need to be a few tweaks where Scott is concerned but all in all, that's not a bad attempt."

Gordon shrugged. "I told you I was struggling to switch my mind off. Things like that keep running round and round, along with the rescue, the 'fly, them…"

John gave Gordon a tight smile before casting his eyes across the room and out of the window at the ocean. "That's partly why I think you should come with me to say goodbye to them properly. I sent you in there, Gords. It's my fault that your last memory of Scott and Virgil is of them like…that. It's my fault and I'm sorry."

"You weren't to know what I'd find and someone _did_ need to go in and find out what was happening. As far as you knew Scott was hurt and in need of help or…something. What I'm saying is that you had no idea you were sending me in to find…that." Gordon sighed loudly and turned to look at his brother. "And I said before that it was better it was me who found them, rather than Al. What I saw is haunting my every waking moment and I wouldn't wish it on anybody."

John pulled his gaze away from the window and took in Gordon's hunched posture. "Scott and Virgil are leaving for Kansas in the morning. I was planning to go and pay my respects this afternoon and if you want to come with me then the invite's there. Dad's already been in and has made his peace with them; Alan wanted to see them but he's changed his mind. Dad…well, I get the impression that Dad sort of talked him out of it, seeing as his last memories are of them whole and well. Dad didn't want him seeing them and changing that. Your last memories are of them are somewhat less…um…pleasant and I think it'd help for you to see them clean, tidy and peaceful again."

Gordon shrugged again and slumped sideways in the chair, putting his faith in the fact that John wouldn't let him fall. "I don't know," he whispered. "What if it messes my head up even more? What if seeing them like that sticks in my mind like how they're stuck in there at the moment. What if _that's_ how I always remember them? What if…"

"Stop it." John wrapped an arm around his brother and held him tightly. "Just stop it and think for a moment. You're currently stuck with the vision of Scott and Virgil how you found them, yes?" Gordon shuddered and then nodded his head but remained silent so that John could continue. "…and you want to fix it so that's not the first thing you see when you wake up in the morning?" Gordon nodded again and let out a wet-sounding sniff. "Well the only way I can see to do that is to replace the mental picture of Scott and Virgil in the Firefly with another image but the only way that I can see to do that is for you go and see them. Granted, it won't be the best final memory of them but it's got to be an improvement on what's up here…" He tapped gently on Gordon's forehead. "…at the moment."

"What about you?" Gordon whispered. "You weren't there, you didn't see. Why are you going in?"

John sighed heavily. "I didn't see it all," he replied. "…but I saw enough and I heard _everything_. Virgil, Scott…everything. I copied the feed onto my computer in case Dad or Brains or…someone needed it and then pulled all the relevant memory drives from Five to make sure Alan couldn't accidentally come across it. I've locked the drives in my safe and the computer in my desk as I have no clue what else to do with them. Part of me says we should destroy them but another part of me keeps pointing out that they're Scott and Virgil's last living moments on this earth. That part of me says we should keep them forever, even though I would never, ever want to hear them played again. So you see, I need to say goodbye to them. I need to say goodbye to them in clean, peaceful surroundings," John lowered his voice to barely a whisper before continuing. "…and so do you."


	26. Chapter 26

~#~ (Chapter 26)

John and Gordon spent some time in the sickroom and then collected Alan and disappeared down to one of the island's coves where they stayed until Jeff called them in for dinner. Jeff made quiet small talk with Penny, John and Alan but as Gordon seemed to be particularly deep in thought he left the aquanaut in peace and motioned to the others to do the same.

Gordon ploughed slowly through his plate of food even though it was obvious to everyone that his mind wasn't on what he was eating. He silently finished his dinner and got about half way through his dessert before suddenly dropping his fork and staring at Jeff. "I don't want to scrap Four. I know it sounds illogical and sentimental and probably stupid but even if I'm never allowed to use her again, I don't want her scrapped. I can't face the thought of her being hacked up and thrown out with the garbage."

Jeff raised his eyebrows and cocked his head towards his son. "No-one's mentioned scrapping anything, Gordon," he replied softly. "…and it would be highly inappropriate to scrap Four, in particular, because I have a very specific task for her to carry out at some point in the future. There's only one Thunderbird machine that's not staying on this island and I fully intend for Four to be instrumental in her disposal."

"The 'fly," John murmured and smiled sadly in acknowledgement of Jeff's terse nod. "I didn't think you'd keep her around. Not after what went on inside her. I don't understand where Four comes into it though? Wouldn't Two be more appropriate?"

Jeff shook his head. "Two's not going anywhere. Four is the only earth-based vehicle with her own pilot and I feel it's fitting that she and Gordon are the ones to take the Firefly away from here."

Penny reached across the table and rested her hand on Jeff's arm. "Jeff, darling, just what is it that you're planning to do with the Firefly?"

Jeff looked slightly apologetic as he gazed down the table towards Gordon who was intently watching him. "I was intending..." he said slowly. "…to ask Gordon to tow her out into the ocean and to release her into a deep, dark trench of his choosing." The Tracy patriarch held up his hand to prevent the outburst that Gordon was guaranteed to make. "Don't worry, I have no intention of creating a major ecological disaster. The Firefly will be drained of all fluids and stripped of any and all potentially poisonous substances and when she's deemed as safe as it's humanly possible to make her then you can take her and do with her what you will. Put her somewhere that she will become a reef or a habitat or…something. Somewhere where she'll never be found. Somewhere…far away from here."

Gordon nodded thoughtfully. "I can think of a couple of places which might do. Are you absolutely certain though? About me and Four and…"

"I'm sure." Jeff inclined his head in Gordon's direction. "It won't be a pleasant job, stripping the Firefly down and I don't necessarily think that any of us should even be involved in that but she needs to go and Gordon, I think you need to be the one to take her. It won't give you closure as such but it may go some way in aiding the healing process."

Gordon shrugged. "I understand," he replied softly. "...but I don't want to do it alone. Someone will have to squeeze into Four's cockpit and come with me. Johnny?"

John nudged Gordon with his shoulder. "I'll be there," he whispered and then turned and addressed Jeff. "We're not talking any time soon, anyway; are we? We need to get other…um…things out of the way first. It's going to take some time to get people in to work on her and to get her ready for transport."

Jeff nodded. "There's no set timescale and no urgency. There are people around the globe who I can call on to help and everything can stay exactly where it is until we all agree that the time is right. OK?"

Four nods answered him and a moment later Penny leant over and squeezed his hand. Jeff gently returned the squeeze and nodded silently.

~#~

The next morning the doctors and Brains rose early so they could move Scott and Virgil out of the sickroom and into Morris Aldridge's air conditioned med-evac jet. They secured the pair firmly into the plane then set about clearing all evidence of their visit from the house and were completely packed and ready to leave by the time the remaining Tracys surfaced from their slumber.

It was a sombre, solemn group who gathered in the hangar to say their goodbyes to the doctors. Penelope, Parker, Tin-Tin and Kyrano stood slightly off to one side so as not to intrude on the Tracys but stayed close-by in case they were to be needed. Brains attempted to distance himself from everyone but found himself quietly comforted when Father Fletcher moved to stand beside him. Gordon and Alan clung to one another, flanked by Jeff, John and Ruth, all of whom instinctively closed around the two youngest family members when the hangar door swung open and the planes began to roll outside.

Everyone followed the jets out onto the runway and watched as Agent 7's little blue plane shot off down the runway and disappeared into the sky, taking both Agent 7 and Doctor Nitschke with it. They were followed, a few short moments later, by the med-evac jet carrying Morris Aldridge, Agent 12, Scott and Virgil.

Alan sniffed loudly and turned his face against John's chest, unable to bring himself to watch as the plane rose higher into the air. John wrapped his arms tightly around him and rested his head heavily against Gordon's as they watched the rapidly shrinking jet until it disappeared from view.

~#~

Alan took Ruth's quiet sobs as his cue to leave the safety of John's embrace. He scrubbed his eyes with the base of his thumb, looked blearily down the runway and let out a shudder. "What are we going to do?" he asked quietly. "Dad? Johnny? What are we going to do?"

John frowned and looked to Jeff for an answer. "The first thing we need to do," Jeff began. "…is to go and wash up. Then we all need breakfast. I know that none of you probably feel like eating but you need something inside you, even if it's just coffee and a slice of toast." Jeff looked sadly from Ruth to John, then to Alan and finally Gordon. "Morris is going to let us know when he lands and he'll begin the paperwork to make your brothers' deaths official. Once I hear from him I will issue a bulletin to the offices to inform the staff of what's happened. I know they'll only be receiving the cover story but it's right that they get it from me rather than hear-say, gossip or the media. I'm going to tell them that anyone who has worked directly with either Scott or Virgil will be welcome at the wake but that we will have to set some limits on the funeral itself due to the size of the churchyard."

John nodded gently and then gathered a brother under each arm and gently ushered them into the house.


	27. Chapter 27

~#~ (Chapter 27)

Jeff spent the best part of that afternoon on the vid-phone. Penny provided morale support by sitting in the office with him as he spoke to his lawyers, insurance company and the funeral home but was asked to leave once Jeff was ready to contact Tracy Towers.

The Tracy patriarch had a long and very emotional talk with Harold Jamieson, his Chief Operating Officer, who was understandably dismayed by what Jeff had to say. The quietly spoken Harold assured Jeff that he would call an all-hands meeting to inform the staff in the Towers of what had happened and also offered to contact the other offices of Tracy Industries on Jeff's behalf. He stressed that he would urge the staff not to try and make contact with Jeff or the three remaining Tracy boys and apologised profusely in advance for those who would try despite his warning not to. He also assured Jeff that he would handle the business side of things for as long as was necessary but asked to be kept informed of funeral arrangements so that the staff who wanted to attend could make preparations.

Jeff eventually disconnected the call and slumped back in his chair with his hands covering his face. He remained that way for several long minutes until a gentle tap on the door drew his attention. "You can come in, Penny," he called softly. "I've done in here for now."

Penelope slid the door open, stepped inside and then closed the door behind her. "How did you know it was me?" she asked as she stepped towards him. "I didn't announce myself."

"It was a feminine knock," Jeff replied with the ghost of a smile. "That and the fact that I guessed you wouldn't go far after leaving. It was a fair bet that Tin-Tin wouldn't have got past you and as far as the door, especially as I'm unlikely to find her knocking on my door any time soon seeing as how she's struggling with everything that's going on as much as any of us."

Jeff sighed loudly and reached out to Penny. He pulled her onto his lap, wrapped his arms tightly around her and allowed his head to fall heavily against her shoulder. He remained still for a short while and then suddenly let out a strangled sob and began to shake.

Penny wriggled around until she could reach him properly and pulled his head down against her chest. "Jeff," she whispered. "Oh, my poor Jeff. Is this why you didn't leave the office once you had finished on the vid-phone? Because you knew that you weren't going to be able to keep the brave face going once you'd spoken to the Towers?"

Jeff didn't immediately reply but tightened his grip on Penny. She in turn tucked him closer beneath her chin, lowered her cheek against his hair and kissed the top of his head. "The three boys and Tin-Tin have gone to ground in Alan and Gordon's room so there's little chance of us being disturbed," she murmured. "I've got you, for as long as you need me and the boys won't see or hear anything. Talk to me, Jeff. Please, talk to me."

Jeff sighed heavily again. "I've always tried to live my life as honestly and respectfully as I can. I try to picture myself in the place of my opponents and treat them as I would wish to be treated. I have a reputation for being fair and just but two of my sons have died and it seems that my honesty and integrity have died with them. I have spent the last few hours telling untruths to important, official people, I have committed what is tantamount to insurance fraud and have just fed one of my closest friends and associates the biggest pack of lies that he's ever likely to hear. Penny, I've been in business with Harold for over half of my life and have known him even longer. He came with me to wet the head of each and every boy when they arrived and yet I cannot truthfully tell him how or why they died. I cannot tell him how heroically they have lived their lives nor how many people are still alive to this day due to their selflessness. I can't…I can't…I can't tell him anything _real_."

Penny gently rubbed Jeff's back as she formulated a reply. "You," she said slowly. "…are only doing what needs to be done to protect John, Gordon and Alan. They are here, they're hurting and even though they're all fully grown they still need the safety and security that only their father can give them. Even if International Rescue is finished; even if it is closed down, never to reopen, those boys still need the fact that they were ever involved to remain a secret. All the boys, Scott and Virgil included, understood what it would do to this family if the wrong people found out; what it would do to you, to them, to Tin-Tin, Kyrano, Grandma and Brains. Not one of them would have wanted to risk the others being exposed to the press, cranks, creeps and general weirdoes of the world and as such they were careful beyond all measure that even the slightest whiff of suspicion never approached the outside world." Penny shook her head in exasperation. "I'm not explaining myself very well. What I'm trying to say is that you might be telling untruths and lies but you're doing so with good reason. You're doing so to protect your remaining children and surely that's the most important reason a man could have?"

Jeff slowly let out a deep breath and nodded. "Scott would've kicked my butt for doing anything other than protecting them. If there…if there's anything after; if they've gone…anywhere then I reckon he and Virgil will be watching everything we're doing with great interest. I'd even go so far as to say that they'll be together somewhere, conspiring with their mother to make sure that I don't do anything stupid or go as far off the rails as I did when I lost her."

Penny hummed softly and fiddled with the hair above Jeff's ear rather than replying. Lucille, religion and the after-life were three subject best avoided where Jeff Tracy was concerned and the fact that he had included more than one of them in a single conversation gave testament to the fragile state of his mind at that moment in time.

~#~

Jeff stayed in Penelope's embrace for several minutes longer until he suddenly realised the position he was in and pulled away. Mindful not to send Penny tumbling to the floor, he gently gripped onto her hip and leant back in his chair before scrubbing his face with his free hand and looking bashfully towards her. "Forgive me," he murmured. "That was wholly inappropriate behaviour on my behalf and I apologise."

Penny, who hadn't moved from her spot on his lap, rolled her eyes at him and then shook her head. "Who's to say what is and isn't appropriate?" she replied. "You needed a hug, I was here and I obliged. No problems, no issues, no embarrassment; just two old friends comforting one another in a time of need. Agreed?"

"Agreed." A ghost of a smile crossed Jeff's face. "Thank you, Penny, for everything you've done for me over the years, for what you're continuing to do now and…well, just thanks for being here and putting up with me. Most women would have run screaming from the island, never to return after having their advances spurned but not you; you were stronger than that. You understood why I couldn't give you what you wanted and you stuck by me regardless. I…I don't know if I've ever told you just how grateful I am for that."

Penny lowered her eyes from his and blushed. Her failed attempt to woo Jeff at the beginning of their friendship was another rarely touched-upon subject and one that, as far as either Jeff or Penny knew, no-one else was aware of. "I don't know how to answer that," she replied softly. "…other than to say that I will _always_ be there for you, Jeff. Day, night or anywhere in between. Always."

A genuine smiled crossed Jeff's face and he nodded. "Thank you…again. Now, I think we should attempt to track down the boys and Tin-Tin. I need to talk through a few things with John in particular but Gordon and Alan have as much right to hear them as anyone. Can you…"

"I'll keep Tin-Tin out of your way so you can have some privacy while you talk to the boys." Penny frowned as she finally climbed off Jeff's lap and stood up. "They've been in the house the whole day; does your 'talk' contain paperwork or could it be done outside?"

"Outside would be fine," Jeff replied. "…and not a bad idea either. We could take a walk down to one of the coves and then stop and talk. Maybe being a distance from the house will help." Jeff shrugged and then heaved himself from the chair with a groan. "Either way, it can't hurt."


	28. Chapter 28

~#~ (Chapter 28)

Jeff found himself relying more and more on Kyrano, Ruth and Penny as the next few days passed. Despite his best efforts the press had found out about Scott and Virgil's deaths and he had been forced to route the island's inbound calls through his personal assistant in Tracy Towers. This made it less simple to make essential arrangements for the funeral but meant that Jeff no longer had to put up with a barrage of unwanted phone calls.

Alan received a particularly distressing crank call on his personal cell phone and burst into the Jeff's office in floods of tears. Unfortunately for the caller he hadn't hung up quickly enough and caught the sharp end of Jeff's tongue before being threatened with legal action should he try to call again. After that the three boys switched off their phones and handed them to Jeff who locked them in the top draw of his desk for safekeeping.

~#~

The churchyard in the town where Jeff and the boys had grown up was unsuitable for large numbers of people so the joint funeral for Scott and Virgil was being kept to a modest size. Jeff drew up a list of people who he felt would definitely want to pay their respects to the two boys and then, with difficulty, whittled the list down to those who would be invited to the funeral itself.

A wake was being held after the funeral for everyone who could not attend the actual service and the townsfolk, many of whom had grown up with their own generation of the Tracy family, had taken on the responsibility of making the arrangements for this at the Tracy homestead. They also ran interference on the many members of the media who were 'just passing through' or who had managed to find themselves 'lost and in need of directions'.

~#~

Jeff was worried about the disturbance that the arrangements, press and arriving visitors would have on his old friends and neighbours so attempted to make contact with as many of them as he could so he could apologise in advance. He was touched to discover that he was worrying unnecessarily though as each and every person he spoke to told him the same thing, that it was no bother and that the whole town was rallying around to give Scott and Virgil the send-off they deserved.

During one vid-phone call, Graham Neilson, the farmer on the homestead beside the Tracy farm offered Jeff the use of his house during the week of the funeral. He pointed out to Jeff that the press were already circling the Tracy farm in the hope of getting a photo of Jeff or one of the remaining boys and suggested that his farm was near enough to be practical while being far enough away to be hidden from the media's prying eyes. Jeff and the others, he said, could base themselves there during the run-up to the funeral and would be able to use it as a bolt-hole to secrete themselves away in if, or when, the need arose.

Jeff called Ruth in while he was talking to Graham and put his suggestion forward to the old lady. Ruth, being the stubborn woman that she was, initially refused to stay anywhere other than in her own house but was eventually won round by the two men who used John, Gordon and Alan as emotional leverage. That, and the fact that Graham's mother had been one of Ruth's closest friends, won her over and she agreed to stay on the neighbouring farm.

An entire floor of one of the town's main hotel was booked out for Tin-Tin, Kyrano, Brains, Penny and Parker. Jeff also reserved several other random rooms for people he had invited to either the funeral or the wake who needed to arrive before, or leave after, other guests due to travel arrangements.

Unbeknownst to John, one of these people was Jess, his former fiancé who was fully aware of the family secret, due to being on the team who had collected John from Thunderbird 5. Jeff had consulted with Ruth before inviting the raven-haired astronaut along to the funeral but had been quietly pleased when his mother had agreed with his suggestion to do so.

Only once Jeff had finished making the arrangements with Jess did he realise that with Tin-Tin there for Alan and Jess there for John, Gordon would be the only one of the boys without a girl on his arm to offer moral support. The aquanaut had never been one for steady relationships or long-term dating and both Jeff and Ruth struggled to come up with anyone whom he might want there to support him. They toyed with the idea of inviting one of his former WASP colleagues but eventually decided to leave Gordon with no-one rather than risking making him uncomfortable by partnering him with someone he wasn't entirely happy with.

~#~

Jeff, Ruth and the boys left the island a day and a half before the funeral was scheduled to take place. Their arrival in Kansas had been planned for dusk in the hope that the media would be less likely to notice them and this appeared to work because the family disembarked the plane without any notable event. They unloaded the bags ready for the next stage of the journey and a quiet, melancholy moment followed when Jeff stepped towards the gleaming, black jeep in the corner of the hangar and paused with his hand hovering above the door handle.

Virgil had painstakingly rebuilt the jeep to better-than-original specifications and it had been his pride and joy for many years before he had chosen to park it in the hangar so that anyone visiting the farm would have a reliable vehicle to use to get them around. The boys gathered around their father to lend him their support and with John's hand resting on his shoulder and Ruth's resting on his back, Jeff opened the door and climbed inside.

~#~

The drive to Graham's farm passed quietly and the farmer was sitting on the front stoop as they drove up. He stood up, walked towards the car as the family clambered out and solemnly shook Jeff's hand. "I wish it could have been under better circumstances but it's good to see you again, Jeff. It's been too long since you came a'visiting."

Jeff smiled tightly and nodded. "Graham," he replied softly. "Thank you for offering to put us up like this. I can't express how much the boys and I appreciate it."

Graham shook her head. "I wouldn't have it any other way; and neither would Mary. Those damn reporters have been hanging around your farm like some bad smell for the past two days and I wouldn't like to think of you or your boys being subjected to the likes of them."

Alan huffed loudly and looked around him uncomfortably as if he was expecting a member of the paparazzi to jump out of the shadows. "Can we go in?" he asked quietly. "Dad? Uncle Gray? Please."

Graham smiled at Alan's use of his pet name and nodded. "Mary," he called loudly. "Where've you got to? There's some travel-weary folks out here who are in need of a hot cocoa and a soft, warm bed. Are you coming out to greet them?"

Mary appeared at the door a moment later and hurriedly wiped her hands on a floral apron that was hanging from her waist. Her unruly silver-blonde hair was pinned in an untidy bun on the back of her head and she had a slightly harassed look about her, reminiscent of someone who had tried, and failed, to clean her entire house from top to bottom in the space of forty eight hours. Unluckily for Mary, this was the exact reason she was looking as harried as she did and pointedly ignored the knowing look her husband and Jeff gave each other.

Graham held an arm out to his wife and beckoned her closer. "Mary, would you take the boy inside. He's a might bit uncomfortable at being out in the open with so many of those scoundrels lurking around next door."

Mary smiled warmly and opened her arms to Alan who threw himself into them and hugged her tightly. "Aunt Ree," he whispered. "I've missed you. Everything's all messed up. It was bad enough at first without Scott and Virg but now…now there's never a moment's peace. There's crazy people with phones and cameras and…it's..."

Mary cooed softly and hushed Alan as she manhandled him up the steps and into the house. Ruth followed her youngest grandson through the door and soon disappeared, leaving Jeff, Graham, John and Gordon standing in the yard. Jeff and Graham shared another look and then turned their attentions towards the remaining pair of boys who were standing a couple of feet from them.

Gordon was pale and washed out and from the position they were standing it looked to Jeff as if John was supporting most of his brother's weight.

"I think we need to go and lie down," John said softly as he noticed the two men look towards him. "The plane and the car and…everything, has all been a bit much. The floor near the start of the fence will need hosing down in the morning so just watch where you tread. Gords, come on, let's get you cleaned up then we can see about getting some fluid back into you."

John coaxed Gordon across the yard, up the steps and through the doorway into the house. He gently urged his brother to climb the stairs and then pushed him into the bathroom and down onto the closed lid of the toilet. "Oh, Gordy, Gordy, what are we going to do with the pair of you?" he muttered as he squatted in front of his brother. "Al goes all mushy and reverts back to his childhood while you decide to christen the place we're going to be staying in with your stomach acid. How are you feeling now?"

Gordon shrugged. "Don't feel like I'm going to hurl again, if that's what you mean. Don't really know if I could handle eating anything though. Do…do you suppose Mary's got some of that lemonade she used to make? I reckon that might stay where it's put."

John opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by a soft tap on the door. "Are you two alright in there?" Jeff asked quietly through the wood. "I thought Gordon might appreciate his wash-bag right about now or, at the very least, his toothbrush."

Gordon leaned sideways and gently pushed the door open. "Thanks, Dad," he whispered. "You can't imagine just how good that sounds. My mouth tastes like something curled up and died inside it at the moment." He took the wash bag from Jeff, pulled out his toothbrush applied the toothpaste and shoved it in his mouth. He let out a breathy, relieved-sounding sigh and sat, scrubbing at his teeth until John handed him a glass of water and he realised that he was going to have to get up to rinse and spit. He handed the water back to John and shuffled over to the sink to finish up.

Once he was done he turned to Jeff with a sheepish expression on his face. "Did you apologise to Gray for me? And Mary, I probably owe her an apology too."

Jeff shook his head. "I did but there's really no need. They know what we're going through and they understand. They're both concerned about you but won't pry or question or…do anything to risk upsetting you further. Mary suggested that some lemonade might help settle your stomach. She remembered you all clamouring over it and made a batch up this morning, especially for you. Try a little, see how you feel and then I think we could all do with an early night."


	29. Chapter 29

~#~ (Chapter 29)

The next day, Jeff left the boys in Mary and Ruth's care and went into town with Graham in order to put his signature on several important pieces of documentation. The two men then paid a visit to the funeral home to check that everything had been completed as per Jeff's wishes, called in on Father Fletcher to confirm final details there and ended up at the hotel when Penelope sent word that she, Parker, Brains, Tin-Tin and Kyrano had arrived.

~#~

When the two men got back to the farm they found Ruth and Mary together in the kitchen, cooking up enough food to feed a small army. Jeff wandered through the house in search of his sons and ended up back in the kitchen when he failed to find them. "Where are the boys," he asked quietly. "Mother, where are the boys?"

Ruth crossed the kitchen, pulled out a chair and motioned for her son to sit. "You didn't honestly expect them to stay cooped up in the house all day, did you? Those boys are used to being free and able to roam as and when the feeling takes them. They've gone out into the fields but have promised to stick together and to avoid the area around our farm. They've taken the dog with them, Jeff and I'm sure you remember what an ornery creature _he_ is; there'll be no chance of any stranger getting within twenty feet of the boys. They'll come back when they're hungry, if not before so leave them be and eat up."

Jeff found himself presented with a plate piled high with home grown vegetables and several large slabs of tender beef topped off with thick, aromatic gravy. He sniffed it and groaned appreciatively.

Graham chuckled as he sat beside Jeff and immediately had a similarly over-loaded plate placed in front of him. "Don't sit there smelling it, Jeff, get it down you."

Jeff attacked the meal with gusto and was just starting his seconds when the boys walked in. "Just in time," he called with a smile. "Mary and your grandmother have excelled themselves this evening. This is all home grown, home reared and home cooked and you haven't had a meal quite like it for a long time. Sit yourselves down and enjoy."

John, Gordon and Alan sat down along one side of the table and were presented with their food by Mary and Ruth who then served up a plate of food each for themselves before sitting down to eat.

~#~

A peaceful quiet fell over the kitchen as everyone tucked into their meal. The boys went back for seconds and Alan had a small portion as thirds but eventually everyone was satiated and uncomfortably full. "Jeff was right earlier," Graham said as he leant back on his chair and patted his stomach. "The pair of you certainly outdid yourselves with that feast. Fit for kings, it was. Fit for kings."

Ruth and Mary looked at one another and smiled. "It's the least we could do," Ruth replied softly. "With the exception of breakfast there's going to be little or no time tomorrow for proper eating so we wanted to make sure you were as fuelled up as possible while there was still time."

Jeff nodded gently. "A sound bit of thinking," he murmured. "I doubt any of us will feel like eating anything by the time we get back here tomorrow. I'm not sure how long everyone will stay at the farm but I don't suppose we'll be leaving before it starts to get dark. I'd like the three of you…" he pointed across the table to the boys. "…to try and stay close by while we're over there. It'll be less…worrisome for me if I can see you. Speaking of which, where did you disappear off to earlier? Did you have any troubles with any of our…um…friends in the media?"

"No," John replied softly. "No problems but we did stumble across Jonah while we were walking. He wasn't attempting to invade our privacy and hadn't deliberately set out find us or anything but we came across him and got talking and…well, I kind of gave him exclusive access to the funeral and wake."

Jeff cocked his head to one side and stared at his son. "I see." He put a finger against his lips and tapped gently as he worked through his thoughts. "John, you know why I've tried to keep the press and media at a distance but I suppose Jonah isn't like the others. I assume he's going to allow us, or someone close to us, to vet anything he's written before it's published?"

John nodded. "Yes, he's more than happy to do that and he's agreed on words only. No cameras, no pictures and certainly nothing invasive. Dad, he wasn't going to do anything at all and wanted me to tell you that he turned down your invite to the funeral so that we didn't have to worry about an unsolicited article appearing in the papers the next day. He was planning to call in at the farm later on in the day to pay his respects to Virgil and Scott but he wasn't going to run a story or anything. When we found him today he was supposedly fishing but hadn't even baited the hook, he was really just sitting and thinking back on happier times when we were kids."

Jonah had grown up in the town with Scott, John and Virgil. He had been born a couple of days before Virgil and the two had been close friends until college had separated them and their lives had set off down different paths.

"I was surprised when he sent back the rsvp saying that he wasn't coming tomorrow," Jeff said softly. "I should have guessed why at the time but I didn't have a chance to second-guess what he was thinking what with everything else that was going on. Do I need to contact him and tell him he can attend or did you leave it that he was going unless told otherwise?"

John nodded again. "Unless he hears from one of us beforehand, he'll be there tomorrow. He'll be as unobtrusive as possible and won't approach any of us directly unless invited to do so. I told him he could liaise with Penny, Parker or, at a push, Kyrano but asked that he leave Tin-Tin and Brains alone and to treat them as off-limits family members. I hope that's OK."

"It sounds it to me, son," Jeff replied. "Now, I don't know about you but I could do with a stroll to work off some of that beef. I know you've been out for a large part of the afternoon but I'd like you to come with me. Tomorrow is going to be stressful, noisy and upsetting so I'd appreciate a quiet wander with the three of you before we retire for the evening."

Jeff received three nods in reply but it was another ten minutes before anyone actually made an effort to move from the table. The Tracys eventually wandered away from the farmhouse until they found themselves on the edge of the brook which marked the boundary between Neilson and Tracy land. The four men stood for a moment, staring sadly across at the farmhouse in the distance and then sat silently on the bank, side by side and remained there until darkness fell.


	30. Chapter 30

~#~ (Chapter 30)

The morning of the funeral dawned bright and dry. The family rose early, ate breakfast and then changed into their formal dress suits and waited for Penny and the others to arrive. A small fleet of vehicles had been arranged to ferry everyone from the farm to the funeral home where they would meet up with, and then follow, the hearses carrying Scott and Virgil on their final journey to the cemetery.

Jeff and the boys travelled in the first car, followed by Ruth, Penny, Parker and Brains in the second. Tin-Tin, Kyrano, Graham and Mary brought up the rear in the third car and slowly the cavalcade pulled away from the farmhouse and up the long drive towards the road.

~#~

The cars pulled into the street beside the funeral home and paused for a moment. The driver in the lead car opened the slide between himself and his passengers and quietly asked Jeff and the boys to remain seated while the hearses were brought out.

Less than a minute later the gates to the yard behind the funeral home swung open and a smartly-suited man stepped through. He was followed by a large, black car which edged its way slowly onto the road and stopped roughly ten metres in front of the car that Jeff, John, Gordon and Alan were sitting in. This was Scott's hearse and the interior was adorned with several bouquets of flowers, all of which were primarily blue in colour except the one from Scott's squadron from his days in the US Air Force which was a wreath of red carnations and blue delphiniums clustered around the stars and stripes of the US flag. The glossy black coffin which held Scott's mortal remains was topped with a simple spray of white lilies and Jeff smiled sadly when he realised that a small bunch of roses had been laid on the base of the coffin above Scott's feet. The roses were Penelope's dedication to the five boys who had been the basis of International Rescue and there was one of each of them; blue, yellow, orange, lilac and white.

Another dark-suited man stepped through the gate followed by Virgil's hearse which pulled slowly out of the yard and stopped in the space that had been left between Scott's car and Jeff's. Rather than having one basic colour scheme like Scott's, Virgil's flowers were a riot of bright, vivid colours and there was a flowered paint pallet in the place where Scott's USAF wreath sat. Virgil's coffin, which matched his brother's, was topped with a matching spray of white lilies and the same bunch of five roses sat by his feet.

The man, who had led Virgil's hearse out, stepped back inside the gate, doffed his hat respectfully to Jeff and then disappeared from view as the gate swung slowly closed. Jeff sighed heavily and cast his gaze over the three boys in turn in an attempt to judge how they were coping.

John was staring solemnly out of the window towards the hearses and had a tight grip on Gordon's right hand. Alan had hold of Gordon's other hand and sniffed loudly as Jeff looked at him. Jeff reached forwards and pulled him into a hug and then reached out and pulled John and Gordon into the embrace as well.

The four Tracys remained in the group huddle until their driver gently tapped on the glass divider behind him. "We're ready to go, Mr Tracy."

Jeff gently pushed the boys back into their seats and rubbed his thumb affectionately across each of their faces before he finally acknowledged the driver. "We're ready."

~#~

Jeff realised, as they travelled slowly towards the churchyard, that a cordon had been set up to keep the press at bay. There were several members of the media trapped behind the cordon who snapped photographs of the hearses as they passed by. The same people then attempted to photograph the occupants of the cars following the hearses and Jeff chuckled darkly.

John looked at him quizzically. "What did you do?" he asked softly. "Dad? What did you do?"

Jeff looked directly out of the window as they passed by the last of the paparazzi. "I had them coat the windows in Brains' anti-snooping film. To the naked eye everything looks normal but when that lot go back to their offices and look through their pictures they'll discover that the only useable ones are of the coffins, flowers and the outside of the cars. Our windows will be totally opaque and we will not be visible. I can't stop photos taken with a heavy-duty telephoto lens during the funeral itself but I can do something about them being taken now; so I have."

John nodded. "Good," he retorted. "It serves them right for intruding on people's grief. Bunch of bloody vultures."

"You've been spending too much time with Penny," Jeff replied quietly. "…but I agree with the sentiment and I'm hopeful that the layout of the churchyard is such that it will make long distance shots difficult to take. Most people I've spoken to over the past few days have agreed to run interference for us but just be aware."

John nodded and went back to staring out of the window. Gordon leaned heavily against his arm so he lifted it enough that Gordon could slip underneath. Alan gently tugged his hand out of Gordon's grasp and slipped into the seat beside Jeff, snuggled against his side and remained there for the rest of the journey.

~#~

The procession entered the churchyard and the three occupied cars paused to allow the hearses space to get into position near to the gravesite where Father Fletcher was waiting. Jeff, John, Gordon and Alan climbed out of their car and were aware of the others doing the same thing behind them. Graham and Mary slipped away from the cars and went to join the rest of the townsfolk who were gathered nearby while Parker took Ruth's arm and gently escorted her to Jeff's side before returning to stand with Penny, Brains, Kyrano and Tin-Tin.

The two sleek black hearses drew level with Father Fletcher and stopped, side by side. Their drivers climbed out, walked around to the rear of the cars and opened the doors as twelve immaculately dressed military officers stepped forwards. These were men who had served with Scott during his time in the USAF and had volunteered to act as pallbearers to both Virgil and Scott.

Father Fletcher nodded gently and the drivers slid the two coffins smoothly out of the cars and into the arms of the twelve waiting officers who lifted them up onto their shoulders. The two sets of six men took a small, well-practiced sidestep away from the other group and turned slowly around until they formed two lines of six with the coffins held securely between them. The men holding Scott waited for Father Fletcher to nod again and then began a slow, measured walk toward the group assembled around the covered mounds demarking the twin graves where the two brothers would spend eternity.


	31. Chapter 31

~#~ (Chapter 31)

Jeff, John, Gordon, Alan and Ruth trailed behind Virgil's coffin and stopped as it was lowered to rest on the bearers which had been laid for it across the grave. The pall bearers moved away as several people stepped forward to lay the flowers from the hearses around the graves. Once this was done Father Fletcher moved a respectful distance from the graves to allow the family some time with their loved ones before the main part of the funeral began.

Scott's coffin was sitting on its own set of bearers just a few feet to the left of Virgil's and past that sat the small but immaculately tended plot occupied by Lucille Tracy, the boys' mother and Jeff's beloved wife. Jeff found his eyes drawn towards Lucille's grave and let out a quiet whimper, deep in his throat. He stepped back slightly as if to distance himself from the poignant reminder of his wife's untimely demise and suddenly found himself pinned between his mother and his eldest surviving son, John.

Ruth reached out and caught Jeff by one arm just as John did the same to his other. Neither restrained the Tracy patriarch but simply held him in place to ensure he couldn't bolt. They could both feel the tension running through Jeff and the tiny tremors which were shaking him and John leant down to quietly whisper in his ear. "Dad, you've got to calm down," he murmured. "...or you're going to make yourself sick. You knew she'd be here. You knew you were going to have to stand here with her nearby. You chose the spot, you made the arrangements and you're going to have to get through this. We're all here with you, we know what you're going through but there's no other option. You _have_ to do this."

Jeff shook his head. "No," he croaked. "I can't. I didn't think this through. I…I can't be here."

John and Ruth tightened their grip on Jeff's arms as he tried to push himself backwards away from the line of graves. Penelope, Parker and Kyrano could see what was happening and stood ready to pull Gordon and Alan aside if it looked like their father was about to suffer a very public breakdown.

Gordon and Alan were standing side by side with their arms interlinked and were completely aware of what was happening, even if they couldn't make out the quiet conversation taking place between their father and John. Gordon turned around, looked around at the others, gathered a short way behind them and beckoned to Tin-Tin and Kyrano who hurried forwards. Tin-Tin found Alan being gently pushed towards her and wrapped her arms around him as Kyrano stood behind them with a supportive hand on each of their shoulders.

Once Alan was settled, Gordon hurried round to his father. He stood in front of Jeff, wrapped his arms around his waist and rested his chin on his shoulder. "Dad," he whispered. "You can't do this. Not here, not now. Not with everyone watching."

Jeff shook his arms free and wrapped them around Gordon. He glanced across the graves to where the many funeral attendees were standing and immediately became aware that Gordon had positioned himself in such a way that it looked as if he was the one being comforted rather than the other way around.

"You talk to Mom when we're at home," Gordon continued softly. "You talk to her stone, up in the clearing and when you sit out on the balcony at night and look at the stars so why won't you talk to her here? Why do you avoid this place? It's quiet and peaceful and…and Scott and Virgil are going to be here too. Are you going to avoid them forever as well?"

Jeff let out a strangled sob, shook his head and buried his face against Gordon's neck. "I can't," he repeated brokenly. "Gordon, I just can't."

"Can't what?" Gordon pushed. "Can't avoid them or can't come here? You can't have it both ways, it doesn't work like that."

Jeff snorted and then quickly pulled his face from Gordon's neck, grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and clamped it against his nose. John saw a tell-tale smudge of red on Gordon's collar and groaned. "Gently, Dad. Pinch it gently. You know the routine."

Jeff squeezed his eyes shut, blinked hard and then nodded at John before looking apologetically at Gordon above the handkerchief. Gordon frowned slightly, looked at the handkerchief and then reached up and rubbed his fingers across his shoulder and neck. He pulled his fingers away, spotted the blood and nodded his understanding as John reached out and dabbed at him with a tissue.

Ruth patted Jeff's arm and tutted softly. "Years," she murmured. "It's been years since your last nosebleed, Jeff. I thought we'd finally got them under control."

Jeff remained quiet and allowed John to answer for him. "They are under control, Grandma. If anything was going to upset Dad enough to push him into one then it was going to be today. This is a one-off, you'll see." He wrinkled his nose and patted Gordon's shoulder. "That's the best I can do for now but I think you'll want to change before we head to the farm later. Dad, Doctor Thompson's heading this way, do we need him to take a look at you?"

Jeff shrugged, held his hand out for a clean handkerchief and carefully uncovered his nose as John nodded to the doctor to approach. Doctor Thompson peered at him and shook his head. "You're not quite there yet, Jefferson. Keep the pressure on a bit longer. How are you feeling in yourself?"

Jeff put the clean handkerchief to his nose and risked a glance over at Lucille's grave. "Not great. I'm kind of wishing I hadn't bothered with breakfast right about now."

The doctor followed Jeff's gaze, nodded sympathetically and patted him on the shoulder. "That's understandable, I suppose. Do you think you're up to carrying on or do you need to take a step back for a moment? I can have someone get you a seat?"

Jeff carefully shook his head. "No," he replied firmly. "I don't need babying, I don't need to step back and I certainly don't need anyone fetching me a damn chair. I should be stronger than this. This is just a place. A piece of ground like any other and it's stupid to be scared of a piece of ground."

"You're not scared of the ground, Dad," Gordon murmured from where he was still standing close in front of his father. "You're scared of what's beneath it and that's the really stupid thing about all this. That is Mom's piece of ground, just like this…" Gordon waved gently to encompass the space behind him. "…is Scott and that…" He waved his hand again, "…is Virgil's. She's the only one there, Dad, just Mom and she is _not_ scary. Scott and Virgil aren't scary, are they?"

Jeff looked from one black coffin to the other and shook his head. "Then why should Mama be?" John nodded as he realised what Gordon was trying to say. "That's what you're saying, isn't it, Gords? They're just Virgil…" John pointed at the coffin on the far right. "Scott…" he pointed at the middle grave this time. "…and Mama." He finished by pointing at the neatly tended grave beyond Scott's. "She's even got fresh flowers, especially for the occasion. Look."

Jeff forced himself to take a proper look at the grave this time and managed the ghost of a smile. "Eleven yellow roses," he murmured. "Every other Friday. Always roses and always on a Friday."

Doctor Thompson patted Jeff's shoulder. "I'll leave you to your thoughts, Jefferson," he said softly. "Take as long as you need. No-one here will mind. They know you, they know your family and they understand, so take it at your own pace."

He turned to move away but found himself being halted by Jeff who had reached out and grabbed him by the arm. "David," the Tracy patriarch whispered. "Thank you and…I'm sorry. Tell the others…tell them…" Jeff shrugged and let go of the doctor long enough to wave his hand at the handkerchief.

Doctor Thompson nodded gently and reached out to remove the cloth from Jeff's nose. He tipped Jeff's head back slightly and nodded. "Here," he murmured, pulling a clean handkerchief from his pocket and pressing it into Jeff's hand. "You look OK for now but keep that close, just in case."

"Thank you." Jeff gave the doctor a genuine smile and watched as he walked away. "Boys," he whispered. "…this is obviously harder than I'd envisaged. I'm going to need to draw on your strength if I'm going to get through this and I apologise in advance if I don't manage it. Mother, I'm not supporting you in any way and I'm sorry; truly I am. I'm doing my best but it's…there's…I just don't seem to be strong enough."

Ruth linked her arm with her son's and patted him gently. "Don't you start getting yourself all worked up again or we'll end up with more problems than just Gordon being in need of a clean shirt."

Jeff automatically looked to the splotch marring his water-loving son's collar. "I'm s..."

"Aht," Gordon held a finger up and wiggled it. "If I hear you say you're sorry one more time then I'm not going to be held accountable for my actions. You are Jefferson Tracy, billionaire, astronaut and founder of all things good. You have nothing to apologise for. You hear me? _Nothing_. You need to speak to Virgil and Scott, to say goodbye and then…" Gordon winced slightly. "…more than anything else…more than Scott or Virgil or me, John, Alan or Grandma…more than all of us, you need to make your peace with Mom. Only once you've done that can we move on and get the rest of this horrible day over and done with. OK?"

Jeff looked from Gordon to John and then to Alan who had somehow snuggled his way beneath John's arm without losing his grip on Tin-Tin. "Agreed. Virgil, then Scott and then…then…" He paused, sucked in a deep breath and then tried again. "…then your mother."


	32. Chapter 32

~#~ (Chapter 32)

With his family's help, Jeff managed a short but emotional, one-sided conversation with Lucille where he apologised for avoiding her and promised to try and start visiting the churchyard, even if it turned out to be only once or twice a year.

After speaking to Lucille, he crouched down at the foot of his wife's grave and remained there silently with John, Gordon and Alan gathered around him. After several minutes he looked up, let out a slow, cleansing breath and then slowly got to his feet. He pulled his wallet from his pocket, gently fished out a small sepia-toned wedding photograph and leaned over to wedge it securely among the heavily-scented blooms of the eleven yellow roses. "I shouldn't have left it so long," he whispered. "Please, boys, don't ever let me leave it so long again."

John patted his father on the shoulder as Gordon and Alan hugged the older man. "We won't, Dad and you'll never have to come alone. One of us or all of us will be here to back you up. We'll come to visit Mama, Scott and Virgil whenever you want us to."

~#~

The rest of the funeral passed without incident. Tears were shed, eulogies were read and tributes were made before the twin coffins were lowered into the ground and Scott and Virgil were laid to rest, side by side forever.

~#~

Gordon decided to forego the trip back to the Neilson homestead and instead slipped quietly through the back door of the Tracy farm kitchen and disappeared into the house. He reappeared almost fifteen minutes later looking clean and immaculately pressed after spot-washing his collar and then drying it with an iron.

There were many more guests at the wake than there had been at the funeral. A marquee filled with long, food-laden tables had been set up in the paddock behind the house and drinks were being prepared in a smaller tent which was tucked in beside the kitchen so as to use the farm's electrical supply without creating a trip hazard. The large picture windows leading to the farmhouse's dining room had been hooked open, as had the doors to the adjoining lounge, so that people could wander inside and the two rooms had been set out with photographs, certificates and other memorabilia from Scott and Virgil's lives.

Jeff, Ruth and the boys mingled with the guests and swapped stories and pleasantries with many of the people gathered there. John pointed Jonah out to Jeff and the pair kept half an eye on the reporter until it became obvious that the young man was being true to his word and was staying well away from the Tracys, Brains and Tin-Tin.

Brains found himself a quiet spot near one end of the marquee and managed to remain there, relatively unnoticed at the periphery of the crowd. Parker sat with him for a time but soon became restless due to not having anything in particular to do. The elderly butler eventually bade Brains a solemn farewell and moved off to take charge of the drinks tent.

Tin-Tin walked into the wake with her father but found herself forced to leave his side when Alan latched onto her arm and refused to let go. Kyrano nodded indulgently at the pair and assured Tin-Tin that he would be fine on his own but then felt immediately lost once she left him. He trailed Jeff around for a short while but it quickly became evident that the boys were keeping a close eye on their father so Kyrano then headed into the kitchen and remained there for the rest of the afternoon.

~#~

Visitors came and went throughout the afternoon but as the light began to fade the Tracy farm began to quieten as people began to either head home or back to their hotels. The hubbub of work in the kitchen, tent and marquee died down until eventually only the Tracys, Kyranos, Neilsons, Penny, Parker, Brains and Jess remained.

Everyone, with the exception of Kyrano and Parker, sat on the porch at the front of the farmhouse and watched as the sun slipped lower in the sky. Jeff, Ruth and Penny had a rocking chair each, Brains perched on the padded window sill and Graham and Mary shared the sturdy wooden swing seat. John sat on the top step with his back resting on his father's leg and with Jess tucked between his legs as she leant against him from the step below. He had one arm slung casually around Gordon who sat beside him and watched with quiet amusement as Alan threw himself heavily against the supportive side-rails at the other end of the step and pulled Tin-Tin down beside him.

"He looks tired," Jess commented quietly. "Mind you, so does…oh. Oh my, John, look."

Jess had craned her head around to look at John but had caught sight of Jeff behind him. The Tracy patriarch had linked hands with Ruth across the arms of their rocking chairs and had fallen asleep with his chin against his chest. Ruth continued to pat her son's hand even though he had nodded off and she winked at Jess, John and Gordon as they looked around. "He's been gone a good few minutes," she whispered. "He shouldn't sit for long with his neck in that position but a few minutes more won't harm him." She nodded towards Alan and Tin-Tin and smiled gently. "Jessica's right about your brother, Johnny; he's done in. In fact I reckon both those little ones might follow your father into the land of nod if we sit here much longer."

Mindful of Jeff's leg against his back, John turned to look towards his youngest brother. Alan had pulled off his tie and had then undone the top two buttons of his shirt while Tin-Tin had snuggled herself against his chest. Both youngsters looked heavy-eyed and only half awake and apart from a vague smile from Alan, neither bothered to move when the others turned to look at them.

John nodded gently and then let out a quiet chuff of breath when Gordon burrowed deeper against his side and sighed loudly. "I've got you," he murmured. "Shut your eyes and I'll keep watch over everyone."

Jess leaned over and squeezed Gordon's arm. "…and I'll watch over John. Close your eyes, Gordon and go to sleep."


End file.
